Before her fainting spell dominated the news this weekend, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton managed to insult millions of Americans. Speaking at a fundraising event in Manhattan Friday night, she cast half of Donald Trump voters into a "basket of deplorables," dismissing them as racists, homophobes and xenophobes. Pundits compared her remarks to Mitt Romney's "47 percent" comment, which has been credited with dooming his 2012 campaign.
Clinton expressed regret for her comments, but the Trump team has already pounced and used her unfortunate generalization in a new ad.
In a speech in Baltimore on Monday at the National Guard, the Republican nominee admitted he at first couldn't believe Clinton had written off half the country so casually. When Trump realized she actually had uttered the words, he argued Clinton had disqualified herself from the running.
“The disdain that Hillary Clinton expressed toward millions of Americans disqualifies her from public service,” Trump said. “You cannot run for president if you have such contempt in your heart for the American voter – and she does. You can't lead this nation if you have such low opinion for its citizens."
Trump on Clinton: "You can't lead this nation if you have such low opinion for its citizens" https://t.co/oZz0jUmo8i https://t.co/Q91Mtv6MbA
— CNN (@CNN) September 12, 2016