Hillary Clinton defends calling Trump's supporters 'deplorables', says her 2016 remark is 'too kind'

WASHINGTON, DC: Hillary Clinton has stood by her controversial 2016 statement, describing half of Donald Trump’s supporters as a “basket of deplorables.”

In a recent op-ed, she reflected on the comment and now believes the term was "too kind" for a section of Trump supporters.

Hillary Clinton says her 'deplorable' comment is 'too kind' for some Donald Trump's supporters

The former Democratic presidential candidate wrote an article for The Washington Post titled "To err is human, to empathize is superhuman," where she discussed her struggle to empathize with “radicalized individuals,” linking it back to her 2016 remark.

In her op-ed, Clinton reflected on her original comments from 2016, which targeted Trump supporters for being drawn to “racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia.”

Though she apologized for her words at the time, she now believes they contained "an important truth."

“It was an unfortunate choice of words and bad politics, but it also got at an important truth,” Clinton wrote. “Just look at everything that has happened in the years since, from Charlottesville to Jan 6."

She further remarked that the events of recent years have shown that “‘deplorable’ is too kind a word” to describe the hate and extremism displayed by some Trump supporters.

Hillary Clinton says part of her wants to believe in 'goodness in everyone'

Hillary Clinton pointed to specific events, such as the 2017 Charlottesville rally, where protesters opposed the removal of a Confederate statue of General Robert Edward Lee.

The rally led to the deaths of three people and numerous injuries. Trump, president at the time, defended some of the protesters as “very fine people," as ABC 12 noted

Clinton also referenced the January 6 Capitol riots and remarked that many convicted for their involvement show “no remorse.”

"Talking about the ‘deplorables’ in 2016, I said, ‘Some of those folks, they are irredeemable.' Part of me would still say this is objectively true. Just look at the lack of remorse from many of the Jan 6 insurrectionists who’ve been convicted of sedition and other crimes," she wrote.

"But another part of me wants to believe something else. I’d like to believe there’s goodness in everyone and a chance at redemption, no matter how remote," Clinton added in the op-ed.

Internet criticizes Hillary Clinton on doubling down on her 'deplorables' comment

Hillary Clinton’s defense of her original “deplorables” comment sparked a flurry of reactions online, with many taking issue with her stance.

"Yeah Hillary is still bitter that Trump’s supporters outvoted her out of the most profitable money-making opportunity for the Democrats," wrote one user on X.

Another added, "Hilary Clinton is accusing herself of being too kind. Just add it to the lies."

One person suggested the comment played a role in her 2016 loss, writing, "Please keep talking. It's worked so well before."

Others defended her, with one user posting a picture of the January 6 attack on Capitol, stating, "I have to agree with Hillary."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.