Just how many of Donald Trump‘s supporters are deplorable? Hillary Clinton estimated half, with her “basket of deplorables” comment, before backing down shortly after. Keith Olbermann, in his new position as GQ‘s political correspondent, has released a new video in which he says that all of Trump’s supporters belong in that basket.
Related: New Studies Prove Hillary Clinton Is Right About Trump’s ‘Deplorable’ Supporters
Funny, Olbermann notes, that we are in a position of not debating whether or not a presidential candidate’s supporters are deplorable, but rather how many of them are.
Clinton called Trump supporters, “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, and Islamophobic.”
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Olbermann looks at the campaign insiders, starting with vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, who refused to denounce David Duke as deplorable. Then there is Trump surrogate Carl Palodino, who called for Loretta Lynch to be lynched and sent out a video of an African tribal dance with the email title “Obama inauguration rehearsal.”
Racist? Check.
Olbermann then mentions Trump making sexist comments about Megyn Kelly, Mika Brzezinski, Heidi Cruz, and Carly Fiorina.
Sexist? Check.
Then there’s Robert Jeffress, the Texas megachurch pastor, who led the prayer at a Trump rally in June, a year after he said that gay rights will pave the way for the Antichrist.
Homophobic? Check.
Related: Mike Pence’s Seven Most Viciously Antigay Moments
Palodino’s name is evoked once again, for smearing Khzir Khan by speculating that he might be a member of the Muslim Brotherhood or a supporter of ISIS.
Islamophobic? Check.
Katrina Pierson is called out next for her bigotry. She tweeted out, “Perfect Obama’s dad born in Africa, Mitt Romney’s dad born in Mexico. Any pure breeds left?” Oh, and Pierson is also antigay (surprise, surprise).
Xenophobic? Check.
“These are campaign leaders, surrogates, friends of Mr. Trump. If they’re not talking to a ‘basket of deplorables’ who are they talking to?” Olbermann asks. “Why would you have them there? You say stuff like that at work, you get fired, you say it at school, you get suspended. But, happily Trump is there to say, ‘No, it’s okay to hate. Better than that, you can hate out loud! We’ll just call it ‘freedom of speech’ and ‘Make America Great Again.'”
There are also the supporters, who have routinely turned violent at rallies, including recently in Asheville, North Carolina, where a man assaulted protesters inside the rally and another man allegedly punched an elderly woman in the face for telling him he better learn Russian (due to the Trump campaign’s apparent coziness with the Putin dictatorship).
Related: Donald Trump Supporters Too Intolerant To Pass His “Extreme Vetting” Test
But is it not possible to be a Trump supporter who doesn’t harbor these despicable worldviews?
“If you’re not condemning this madness and repudiating these deplorable people, and you are not racist, not sexist, not homophobic, not Islamophobic or not xenophobic, if you’re supporting him not for those things but in spite of them, you are even more deplorable,” Olbermann says.
Watch the video below.
Mo Bro
Keith Olbermann has been fired more times than my grill in July, and it’s not because he’s a rational, thoughtful man—it’s because he’s bat-shittier than a bat cave.
RadChad
Couple of my friends are voting for Trump. They’re not deplorable. Very nice guys. Sad article!
Josh in OR
@RadChad:
“If you’re not condemning this madness and repudiating these deplorable people, and you are not racist, not sexist, not homophobic, not Islamophobic or not xenophobic, if you’re supporting him not for those things but in spite of them, you are even more deplorable.”
Pretty much says it all. Anyone who is voting for Trump supports his – and his surrogates, since they speak for him – ‘deplorable’ behavior, hateful rhetoric, and petty remarks, whether openly and honestly or tacitly – as if pretending that they’re unaware of the monstrous things he stands for will give them cover.
gayhope1990
Hear Hear!The Trump voter are a bunch of rednecks,white-trashes.They’re bigot,dumb,useless,pathetic and loser.
RadChad
@Josh in OR:
Then by your standard everyone who votes Hillary is a stance-changing populist, corrupt, evidence-destroying liar with unbridled ambition?
KK brah, if you say so.
antgalva
@RadChad: dont forget she takes money form Saudi Arabia. so all hillary supporters are against women, lgbtq and all humanity. these people are nuts
Josh in OR
@RadChad: @antgalva:
What you Trumpies describe in your deliberately inflammatory, fear-mongering way is called “an American politician.” it’s cute that you think that someone who points out Trumpie stupidity and un-American hate baiting must be a Clintonite.
I can’t stand Hillary for many reasons – most prominently, because she is just another corrupt American politician willing to say and do what polls tell her she can/should do/get away with – but I will gladly be voting in a status quo candidate over an apocalyptic blowhard like Trump, a bigoted moron like Pence, and anyone either of those two lunatics would appoint to fulfill the socially despicable platform the GOP has proudly pledged themselves to. My opposition to Trump and his brain-dead hate brigade has nothing at all to do with supporting Clinton. It has everything to do with not wanting a basket of bigoted, fearful mouth breathers near the presidency.
Better that we deal with four more years of the devils we know than to hand the keys of the asylum to the worst inmates around.
Alistair Wiseman
It’s nice that someone took a risk and hired Keith Olbermann again. This time as a GQ Special Correspondent. (Oh, how the mighty have fallen!)
Let’s see how long it takes before he gets fired from this job as well.
Drew Espinosa
Way to fuckin’ generalize a whole group of people. The regressive left continues to sow how bigoted it truly is.
Rob91316
At this point, if you are a Trump supporter, you really are nothing more than just a worthless piece of shit who should “Make America Great Again” by killing yourself NOW!!! Period. End of sentence. Nothing to debate here.
Josh in OR
@Josh in OR: While I applaud your lack of self awareness and irony, I have to ask: While bitterly whining about generalizing a whole group of people (while in the process generalizing a whole OTHER group of people), you refer to the ‘regressive left’. Other than a symptom of head trauma and Obama Derangement Syndrome brought on by too much Fox/Breitbart/Alex Jones drivel, what EXACTLY is that? Are you implying that the right, as embodied by such luminary minds as Louie Gohmert, Donald Trump, Sean Hannity, David Duke and others, is somehow…progressive?
Other than progressing – like some rough beast towards Bethleham – towards an imaginary world where only white Christian heteronormative ‘folks’ call America home, what progressive ideas does the right espouse?
– Tax cuts for the already obscenely wealthy?
– Fascistic wet dreams of dominance of the world through military might and corporate control of the media?
– The right to deny service to gays, blacks, Muslims, Catholics, the Irish, the Jews, etc?
– Ignorance of science as pertains to women, evolution, climate change, sexuality, fossil fuels, and reality in general?
– Rejection of factually accurate understandings of history, particularly American Constitutional history?
Please tell me, so I can maybe see the GOP the way you clearly do. What ‘progress’ does Trumpie and his poor, poor, put upon horde of White Supremacist-apologist, violent rhetoric-spewing, homophobic dog whistlers have to offer?
Drew Espinosa
@Josh in OR: There is the regressive left and there is the progressive left. There is a difference and I take care to distinguish the two. True progressives champion classical liberal positions (i.e. free speech). Regressives on the other had will sacrifice many progressive principles in the name of Islam, neo-feminism, and other PC-bullshit.
Furthermore, you do realize the term “regressive left” wasn’t coined by conservatives, right? It was first coined by Maajid Nawaz, and has since been used by liberal giants such as Bill Maher, Richard Dawkins, Dave Rubin, and Sam Harris.
Kieran
Didn’t this guy used to have his own show that nobody watched years ago?
Alistair Wiseman
@Rob91316:
“At this point, if you are a Trump supporter, you are really nothing more than a worthless piece of shit who should “Make America Great Again” by killing yourself NOW!!!”
Another example of that Democratic tolerance, inclusiveness, compassion and diversity that we constantly hear so much about.
dwes09
@Drew Espinosa: “The regressive left”
Ah, the never ending new-speak and dissembling of the right! By definition, BY DEFINITION, conservatives are regressive: looking backwards, clinging to the old regardless of whether or not it has yielded results. The left is progressive (more enfranchisement for more people, not less as you want, more social progress and equitable treatment not less as you want, more education and critical thinking, not less as the right demands).
dwes09
@Drew Espinosa: “There is the regressive left and there is the progressive left”
The term was coined by people with a rather narrow and questionable agenda. To support the rank and file of Islam in their quest for self determination is not at all support for radical Islam or for the imposition of their customs on non Muslims. Those who use it are more likely to be activist atheists and those with an irrational hate for Islam above all other faiths (like Mahr and Harris). They have more in common with right wingers in this, and thus thus are the ones who should be referred to as regressive leftists, were it not such an oxymoron.
It is not a term in common use, and is rather hilarious coming out of the mouth of a regressive.
dwes09
@antgalva: ” dont forget she takes money form Saudi Arabia.”
Don’t forget all past administrations have been in bed with the princes of the house of saud, some literally (like the bushes) some only figuratively. Don’t forget they have been staunch allies of the right, and no strangers to trump.
At least the money they gave to the Clinton Foundation was used to directly fund important work in global health and alleviation of poverty. By contrast, Trump takes money from others (he has not made a direct donation to the foundation since 2008), claims it is his and apparently uses it to buy paintings of himself and very little else!
dwes09
@RadChad: “Couple of my friends are voting for Trump. They’re not deplorable. Very nice guys.”
Possibly they are, but they are easily shown to be deluded and voting against their own interests as well as the best interests of the country.
dwes09
@Mo Bro: “Keith Olbermann has been fired more times than my grill in July, and it’s not because he’s a rational, thoughtful man”
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. And in this case his examples of the ideology of both Trump and his surrogates are undeniably correct. I know that facts are of little value to the right, but thankfully a majority of this country gas a healthy grip on reality
Lookyloo
@Kieran:
Olbermanns show on MSNBC had very good ratings – sometimes even huge – and, it’s noteworthy, much bigger ratings than any of his timeslot successors.
His viewership was solid but the NBC execs didn’t like him and the Comcast execs liked him even less and they were buying the company back in 2011 when he and MSNBC parted ways. He was, by several accounts, not easy to work with or for – but his ratings were not a problem.
And everything he says in the video is true. Like him or not – every point about Trump is true.
DCguy
Oh look, the one gay Republican and his few screename doing their best to play victim. Notice how they never admit to the homophobia, or the fact that Trump has said he would put in judges to remove lgbt rights?
No, according to them, a Republican can attack lgbts and want all rights stripped away, but if somebody points it out the BIGOTS are the victims.
The log Cabiners are now simply an anti-lgbt hate group.
JessPH
Hillary’s biggest gaffe is saying half instead of ALL.
Mo Bro
@Rob91316: When you shout there’s “nothing to debate,” along with wishing death on those with whom you disagree politically, you’ve lost your argument, your credibility, and, quite frankly, your sanity.
RadChad
@Josh in OR:
The “Devils you know” accept exorbitant sums of money from Saudis among others (who will want to see it payed pack with interest), arms Islamist rebel groups (many of whom reformed into ISIS), topples stable governments around the Arab world leading to Islamist political parties coming to power in, for example, Egypt. They supported a coup against a democratically elected government on European soil.
I’m sorry, but you can’t possibly suggest these people have any concern for LGBT rights. I’ll assume you already know what kind of place Saudi Arabia is(, not even mentioning their war in Yemen.) Hillary Clinton changing her stance on same-sex marriage is her desiring power, not her suddenly seeing the light.
I won’t vote for any more of this destructive interventionism. No matter how many negative epithets you come up with, Trump is nothing more than a loudmouthed buffoon. But one who won’t send more of our soldiers to die in pointless wars to maintain American power in the ME. Unlike Hillary, he is not a military hawk, and he didn’t want to go to war, and according to the debates he is not interested in anymore wars. You people trying to paint a picture of him as the next militaristic Hitler is frankly laughable considering who you’re about to vote for.
As for calling us a “hate brigade” just after you called someone brain-dead (among a whole slew of buzzwords making up no argument at all in particular) suggests that you simply have no self-perception whatsoever.
Lefil
@RadChad:
If Trump wins and gets his way there will be more war because Trump loves war. Trump called for massive increases in military spending for both personnel and weapons. He called for more Navy ships, about 90 more jet fightersand a 20 percent increase in the size of the Army. He has been urging war for decades. In 1987, on a “Today” show clip rebroadcast on the Aug. 10, 2015, “Morning Joe” show, he said that if a single shot is fired by Iran at a U.S. ship the American military should invade Iran, “take over” its oil and “let them have the rest” of their country.
In his Philadelphia speech Trump also insistedyou cleart that he would order the military to come up with a plan to swiftly destroy ISIS, a plan he would give them 30 days to design.
Trump supporters like you are considered as a bunch of crazies because you clearly don’t even know/ care about his foreign policy and military policy.
Aromaeus
Queerty why are the words r@cist and xen0phobic censored in comments even when the article is talking about them?!!
Aromaeus
When someone liberal tells me they are friends with trump supporters all that means to me is either that person is a white cisgender male so most of the vitriol doesn’t go their way or they are part of a minority group that their friends can “tolerate” so they just excuse the other things. Let us not forget that Trump quickly rose above his republican primary competition with a blatantly r@cist and xenoph0bic message. If that somehow resonated with a friend of yours, you may need to rethink how decent of a person that friend of yours really is.
The man offers no real substantive policy issues and spends most of his interviews saying how bad everything is without actually offering a plan. If you can be swayed by that kind of double-speak then you REALLY need to stay home on election day.
dre23222
Keith is right. All of them are dumb stupid and ignorant NOTHINGS
Drew Espinosa
@dwes09: “The left is progressive (more enfranchisement for more people, not less as you want, more social progress and equitable treatment not less as you want.”
Where on earth did I say I want less enfranchisement, social progress or equitable treatment?
These are baseless accusations.
“It is not a term in common use, and is rather hilarious coming out of the mouth of a regressive.” Oh sweetie, you’re projecting… tsk, tsk, tsk.
“To support the rank and file of Islam in their quest for self determination is not at all support for radical Islam or for the imposition of their customs on non Muslims.”
*snort* Tell that to Western Europe, who are happy to allow Sharia courts, turn a blind eye to Muslim men raping girls, and allow extremist imams to radicalize the Muslim youth.
“irrational hate for Islam” Hatred of Islam is rational, given how vile and disgusting of an ideology it is.
“[Maher and Harris] thus are the ones who should be referred to as regressive leftists.” You are flat out wrong. Both of these men are staunch progressives who support western democratic values: free speech, free press, and so on.