Hillary Clinton: “Deplorables Is Too Kind Of A Word”

An excerpt from Hillary Clinton’s new book:

I saw firsthand how fast conspiracy theories could spread and radicalization could take hold. During the 2016 campaign, a shocking number of people became convinced that I am a murderer, a terrorist sympathizer and the evil mastermind behind a child-sex-abuse ring. Alex Jones, the right-wing talk show host, posted a video about “all the children Hillary Clinton has personally murdered and chopped up and raped.”

In 2016, I famously described half of Trump’s supporters as “the basket of deplorables.” I was talking about the people who are drawn to his racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia — you name it. The people for whom his bigotry is a feature, not a bug. It was an unfortunate choice of words and bad politics, but it also got at an important truth.

Just look at everything that has happened in the years since, from Charlottesville to Jan. 6. The masks have come off, and if anything, “deplorable” is too kind a word for the hate and violent extremism we’ve seen from some Trump supporters.

Read the full excerpt. Gift link here.

“What will it take to pull us out of the madness? Is there any way to drain the fever swamps so we can stand together on firmer, higher ground?”

Read this excerpt from @HillaryClinton’s newly published book, “Something Lost, Something Gained”: https://t.co/pb9UnwRkyl pic.twitter.com/Y3tmR6b8N9

— Washington Post Opinions (@PostOpinions) September 25, 2024