Basket of deplorables
She used the phrase to describe "half" of the supporters of her opponent, Republican nominee Donald Trump, saying they're "racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic".
The New York Times and CNN cited Clinton's earlier articulation of similar ideas to the phrase in her August 25, 2016, campaign speech at a rally in Reno, Nevada.
[8] On that same day, Clinton posted a video on Twitter depicting white supremacists supporting Donald Trump.
Those are people we have to understand and empathize with as well.The following day Clinton expressed regret for "saying half", while insisting that Trump had deplorably amplified "hateful views and voices".
[15] On October 20, 2016, during the 71st Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, Clinton joked about the phrase, telling the guests: "I just want to put you all in a basket of adorables".
[16] Clinton's campaign pointed to a series of polls that showed that some of Trump's supporters held negative views toward Latinos, African Americans, and Muslims.
[6][19] In a rally at Des Moines, Trump stated: "While my opponent slanders you as deplorable and irredeemable, I call you hardworking American patriots who love your country".
Trump's running mate Mike Pence stated in a Capitol Hill meeting: "For Hillary Clinton to express such disdain for millions of Americans is one more reason that disqualifies her to serve in the highest office".
[26] Kellyanne Conway, Trump's campaign manager, had issued a statement on Twitter, claiming: "One day after promising to be aspirational & uplifting, Hillary insults millions of Americans".
[40] Political scientist Charles Murray said, in a post-election interview with Sam Harris, that because the comment helped get Donald Trump elected, it had "changed the history of the world, and he [Haidt] may very well be right.
[41] In an interview with CNN on December 4, 2016, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager Robby Mook said that the statement "definitely could have alienated" her voters.
[31] James Taranto of The Wall Street Journal wrote that Clinton only stated that she regretted saying half without indicating whether she underestimated or overestimated.
For example Time writer Darlena Cunha opined that several members nominated for Trump's cabinet were a "basket of deplorables" spreading racism, Islamophobia, and antisemitism.
