Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota criticized Hillary Clinton for saying that half of Donald Trump’s supporters could be put into a “basket of deplorables.”
Clinton in recent weeks has argued there are two camps of Trump supporters — the "deplorables," which include racists and xenophobes, and those who feel the government has let them down and are deserving of empathy. At a New York fundraiser, Clinton said “half” of Trump’s supporters fit into the first camp, and subsequently released a statement saying she was wrong to say “half,” but stood by criticism of Trump’s “prejudice and paranoia.”
Heitkamp was asked on WZFG AM 1100 if she renounced the comments.
"Yes, I do,” said the Democratic senator on Thursday. “I think it was a wrong thing to say. I think that it ignores the very true concerns that we have about needing change in this country. I think that it was ill-advised.
"I think [Secretary Clinton] said it was ill-advised," he continued. "I think she walked it back, and I think that it was unfortunate that she said it. I'm glad that she’s denounced that statement, and I do not agree with her."