22 Times The 2016 Presidential Election Was A Dumpster Fire

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13. A Basket of Deplorables

With two candidates this vastly different, it’s easy to understand why the sides are polarized. While each party has a core base that usually won’t move, it’s the job of candidates to sway the rest. Thus, trying not to alienate people is crucial. However, Hillary Clinton did just that when she described the two sides to Trump supporters.

While there those who have simply lost their faith in politics, and turn to the “political outsider” to be the face of change, there are also those who support Trump simply because they share a narrow worldview. Whether it’s about women, Mexicans or Muslims, Trump’s campaign has reinforced some pretty harmful views on those groups. And because of that, those who share the same prejudice are attracted to the campaign. Clinton described this as the “basket of deplorables.”

Regardless of how many people actually hold those “deplorable” views, as a candidate for president this kind of statement is received very poorly. So it’s surprising that Clinton, who has so many years of experience, and whose every communication is under scrutiny, would outright call half Trump’s base bigots. The number one rule of politics is usually to direct your attacks on your opponent, not the voters. Votes can always change up until you’ve submitted your ballot.