Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton once again took on Donald Trump’s supporters, this time comparing them in an interview to “cult” members who need to be “deprogrammed.”
She made the comment while lamenting that an “evil form of politics” has taken hold, while lashing out at “MAGA extremists” and asking what it will take for Trump’s most loyal supporters to “break” with him.
Her comments about Trump’s supporters had echoes of 2016, when she said you could put about half of Trump’s supporters in a “basket full of deplorables.” It was a statement that many of Clinton’s party members came to regret as Republicans capitalized on it to rally their forces.
“So there’s clearly a common sense, you know, a reasonable portion of the Republican caucus in the House. “But I think they’re intimidated,” Clinton told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour during a tumultuous week in Congress as the House speaker , Kevin McCarthy, was removed after Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a motion to trigger his removal.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke about “MAGA extremists” in a new interview, comparing them to “cult” members who need to be “deprogrammed.”
She was referring to the group of Republicans who joined with Democrats to extend government funding for 45 days and prevent a shutdown, the act that triggered McCarthy’s ouster.
She then compared political battles of the past to more modern clashes — having witnessed her husband’s failed impeachment, the Whitewater investigation, the Benghazi hearings and her own harrowing 2016 campaign experience.
“I mean, we’ve had very strong partisans in both parties in the past, and we’ve had very bitter fights over everything from gun control and climate change and economics and taxes, but there wasn’t that little tail of extremism waving.” You know, with “Wagging the dog of the Republican Party as it is today,” she said.
“And unfortunately, so many of these extremists, these MAGA extremists, are taking their marching orders from Donald Trump, who no longer has any credibility whatsoever.”
She then brought up the four criminal charges against Trump as well as other legal challenges, such as the potential $250 million in penalties, that he is battling in court in New York this week.
“He is only in it for himself.” He is now defending himself in civil suits and criminal proceedings. And when will they break with him? You know, because at some point, you know, there may have to be a formal deprogramming of the cult members. But something has to happen and how do you do it?’ She said.
Amanpour, the longtime foreign affairs correspondent, smiled and giggled during her “deprogramming” comment, then asked how the situation could ever change.
Clinton made the comments in a conversation with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton compared Donald Trump’s supporters to a “cult” and suggested “formal deprogramming.”
The comments from Clinton, whose official portrait was unveiled at the State Department, recalled her “basket of regrets” during the 2016 campaign
Clinton’s comments come as Trump continues to rise in the polls despite facing multiple criminal charges
Trump has relied on his loyal support base throughout his presidency and after the presidency. He campaigned in Iowa this month to encourage people to vote for him in a caucus
Trump has a one-point lead over President Obama in the RealClearPolitics polling average
“At this point I think unfortunately he will be the candidate. “We have to defeat him,” Clinton replied.
Karoline Leavitt, spokeswoman for the Make America Great Again PAC, criticized Clinton’s comments, calling the idea her “re-education camp proposal.”
“President Trump has said countless times that they are only going after him because he is preventing them from taking action against you — and Hillary Clinton just confirmed that to be true,” she said. “Tens of millions of Americans will reject the Democratic Party’s re-education camp agenda in November 2024 when we make Donald Trump the 47th President of the United States.”
Clinton, who was defeated by Trump in 2016, spoke of the deep “psychological” bond between Trump and many of his supporters.
Trump said in Iowa in 2016: “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot someone and I wouldn’t lose any voters, okay?”
“It’s a classic story of an authoritarian populist who really has a handle on the emotional, psychological needs and desires of a segment of the population,” Clinton said. “And the base of the Republican Party, for whatever reason — emotional and psychological — sees him as someone who speaks for them, and they are committed to continuing to vote for him, attend his rallies and carry him.” It’s a commodity because for whatever reason, he and his very negative, ugly form of politics resonates with them,” she said.
Clinton made her “deplorable” comment in 2016 at a New York fundraiser in the middle of the fall White House campaign, when Trump’s packed rallies were still an emerging phenomenon.
“You know, to broadly generalize, you could put half of Trump’s supporters in what I call the basket of deplorables. ‘Right?’ Clinton said. “Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic people – whatever.” And unfortunately there are people like that. And he raised her up.’
Trump defeated Clinton in the Electoral College, even though she received more votes than he did nationwide. Now, in a worrying sign for Democrats, Trump is ahead of President Joe Biden by about one percentage point in the RealClearPolitics poll average.