For “deplorable,” the thesaurus offers “appalling,” “dreadful,” “unforgivable,” “disgraceful,” “unacceptable” and “shameful” as several alternatives.
I think it was truly deplorable that Hillary Clinton described some Trump supporters as a “basket of deplorables.” She should know better. “Deplorable” is an adjective, not a noun, and thus has no plural. She might have better said, “Some Trump supporters are a basket of deplorable people.”
The deplorable candidate Trump has used Clinton’s words as campaign fodder, suggesting that she is as bad as he. False equivalence is the sad reality of this campaign. There is no equivalence. Trump’s constant stream of insults directed at all kinds of folks is unjustified, disgraceful, unacceptable, shameful and quite inaccurate. Her characterization of his supporters, while perhaps unwise, was quite accurate. Many of Trump’s supporters are indeed deplorable people.
After the second “debate,” aka debacle, Trump falsely claimed that CNN “turned off” coverage that was unfavorable to Clinton and then manipulated focus groups. The crowd at his rally chanted an expletive directed at CNN.” Shameful.
The same crowd cheered wildly when Trump claimed to have won the debate based on Breitbart polls, which is like me claiming to have qualified for the Olympic Trials in gymnastics because my 20-month-old grandson liked the headstand I did last week.
The loudest cheers were reserved for his statement that Clinton would “be in jail” if he were president. Disgraceful.
The New York Times reported that a Trump supporter, David Quinn, had this view of his lewd comments from the 2005 videotape: “The only thing that tape shows is he’s a healthy heterosexual.” Unforgivable. If Mr. Quinn has a wife, daughters, nieces or any other females he cares about, let us hope they don’t encounter too many “healthy” heterosexual men.
Another Trump fan recited a flourishing conspiracy theory, “A lot of people affiliated with Hillary have died over the years, and nobody says nothing about it.” Unacceptable. There is no evidence to justify a claim that a presidential candidate is implicated in murder. Shameful.
For more than five years, Trump fueled the ugly, racist lie that the president of the United States is illegitimate, because he is not a citizen. His supporters cheered with frothing anger at every hateful repetition of this vicious nonsense. Disgraceful.
At his rallies, supporters have punched peaceful protesters and used racial epithets with apparent glee. Appalling. During his rallies, supporters shout “LOCK HER UP” when Clinton’s name is mentioned. This was before his dangerous quip during the second debacle. Unacceptable.
Trump has winked and nodded as several of America’s most virulent white supremacists have lined up behind his candidacy. He claimed that he didn’t know anything about David Duke, the KKK rock star, despite a long record of interviews during which Trump specifically referred to Duke. His rallies are speckled with white supremacists in race-baiting T-shirts and he has never admonished them. Dreadful.
The Times also reported, “A cavalcade of motorcycles roared up, and there were cheers and laughter for a man shouting, ‘Donald Trump is going to make America great! He hasn’t paid taxes in 20 years.’ ”(Well, perhaps not deplorable, but really, really stupid.)
His newly discovered pro-life position has enthusiastic support from his religious base. He would deny women the right to control their own bodies. Unacceptable. During the primary campaign, he suggested criminal penalties for women who have abortions. His right-to-life fans applauded this bizarre suggestion. Shameful.
The Trump-Pence campaign is virulently homophobic. As governor of Indiana, Pence has been the architect of the most anti-LGBTQ agenda in America. Many Trump supporters love his VP choice precisely for this reason. Denying my friends, relatives and students their full rights is utterly disgraceful.
His crowds cheer wildly when he pledges to deport Muslims. They love it when he says waterboarding is not sufficiently severe, despite the fact that it is cruel, ineffective and illegal. Appalling. His solution to poverty and racism is to call neighborhoods of color “hell” and to suggest we need more “law and order,” including stop and frisk, a racist, ineffective practice.
Politifact reports that 71 percent of Trump’s statements are mostly false, false or “pants on fire.” The crowds scream with delight as he stirs them into a frenzy with flagrant lies. Shameful.
He insulted a dead Muslim war hero and his parents. He attacked a former Miss Universe mercilessly and needlessly. He demeaned his primary opponents and basked in the approval of his coarse fans at rally after rally. Disgraceful.
In the normal course of political events, it would be deplorable to characterize a candidate or his supporters as deplorable. This campaign is not normal. Donald Trump is unfit for the presidency. He is a bully, a bigot, a misogynist, a narcissist and a careless, impulsive sociopath. Supporting him is deplorable.
Unfortunately, a basket is not a large enough container to hold the number of voters who apparently don’t find these qualities sufficiently disqualifying. A dumpster might be more fitting.
Steve Nelson lives in Sharon and New York City, where he is the head of the Calhoun School, a private school. He can be reached at steve.nelson@calhoun.org.