--- title: Donald Trump Slams Clinton 'Basket of Deplorables' Comment description: "Hillary Clinton is an insider supported by powerful insiders attacking Americans who have absolutely no political power," he said canonical: https://time.com/4488136/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-deplorables/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-12T19:37:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:45:38.849Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Fires Back at Clinton's 'Basket of Deplorables' Comment og:description: Says she is "attacking Americans who have absolutely no political power" og:url: https://time.com/4488136/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-deplorables/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltadb0155c0107c186/6988a59b0a4a22c91d9cb392/gettyimages-603209388.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2295 og:image:height: 1291 og:image:alt: GOP Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Speaks At National Guard Annual Convention In Baltimore og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Fires Back at Clinton's 'Basket of Deplorables' Comment twitter:description: Says she is "attacking Americans who have absolutely no political power" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltadb0155c0107c186/6988a59b0a4a22c91d9cb392/gettyimages-603209388.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Fires Back at Hillary Clinton's 'Basket of Deplorables' Comment > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 12, 2016 7:37 PM UTC  Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump addresses the National Guard Association of the United States' 138th general conference & exhibition, at the Baltimore Convention Center, September 12, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. Mark Wilson—Getty Images Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump addresses the National Guard Association of the United States' 138th general conference & exhibition, at the Baltimore Convention Center, September 12, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. Mark Wilson—Getty Images Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 12, 2016 7:37 PM UTC Donald Trump slammed Hillary Clinton on Monday [for comments she made at a fundraiser last week ](http://time.com/4486928/hillary-clinton-health-pnemonia-deplorables/?xid=homepage) that suggested half of the Republican nominee’s supporters are racist, sexist, homophobic, or Islamaphobic Americans who make up a “basket of deplorables.” Speaking before the National Guard’s annual convention in Baltimore, Trump said Clinton showed her true colors during those remarks, calling her an “insider” who spoke with “hatred and derision” for the people who “make this country run.” “Hillary Clinton is an insider supported by powerful insiders attacking Americans who have absolutely no political power,” Trump said. “She spoke with contempt for the people who thanklessly follow the rules, pay their taxes and scratch out a living for their family; a hard-earned living, too.” Clinton has said she regrets generalizing “half” of Trump’s supporters in such a manner, though she has maintained that the candidate himself has engaged in “deplorable” acts, including criticizing a judge based on his Mexican heritage and being a vocal member of the birther movement questioning President Obama’s birthplace in Hawaii. Clinton has also used similarly harsh language about Trump’s supporters in interviews and in a speech detailing the support he has of members of the so-called alt-right movement. “After months of hiding from the press, Hillary Clinton has revealed her true thoughts—that was her true thoughts,” Trump said. “She revealed herself to be a person who looks down on the proud citizens of our country as subjects for her rule.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4488136/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-deplorables/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4488136/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-deplorables/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Fires Back at Hillary Clinton's 'Basket of Deplorables' Comment","datePublished":"2016-09-12T19:37:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:45:38.849Z","description":"Says she is \"attacking Americans who have absolutely no political power\"","url":"https://time.com/4488136/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-deplorables/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election","Election 2016","Donald Trump","Democrats 2016"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltadb0155c0107c186/6988a59b0a4a22c91d9cb392/gettyimages-603209388.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltadb0155c0107c186/6988a59b0a4a22c91d9cb392/gettyimages-603209388.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GOP Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Speaks At National Guard Annual Convention In Baltimore","caption":"GOP Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Speaks At National Guard Annual Convention In Baltimore","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4488136/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-deplorables/","name":"Donald Trump Fires Back at Hillary Clinton's 'Basket of Deplorables' Comment"}}]}] ```