Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton does not plan on stopping calling out what she finds to be hateful rhetoric spoken by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
“I’m going to keep calling out the bigotry and hateful rhetoric that he’s brought to this campaign because I don’t think you can make our country great by tearing people down,” Clinton said on the Tom Joyner Morning Show, Black America Web reports.
Clinton backed up her statement that Trump says hateful rhetoric with examples, including him allegedly bullying the Muslim family of a slain military member, accusing President Barack Obama of not being a true American, and referring to women as pigs and bimbos.
“I do really believe we are stronger together. But I also accept the responsibility, making sure that we do everything we can to try to heal these divides to bring people together,” she said. “But it starts by standing up and calling out the bigotry and the hatred that we see coming from Trump. He has incited violence and he has been more than willing to align himself with the so-called Alt Right and everything deplorable thing they represent.”
Last week, Clinton said half of Trump’s supporters belonged in a “basket of deplorables,” Reuters reported.
Her statement caused an uproar, and she later said that it was regrettable.
"Last night I was 'grossly generalistic,' and that's never a good idea. I regret saying 'half' - that was wrong," Clinton said in a statement.
Trump’s response to her calling half his supporters deplorable was made on Twitter.
“Wow, Hillary Clinton was SO INSULTING to my supporters, millions of amazing, hard working people. I think it will cost her at the Polls!” he tweeted.
“While Hillary said horrible things about my supporters, and while many of her supporters will never vote for me, I still respect them all!” Trump said in a follow-up tweet.
While speaking with the Tom Joyner Morning Show, Clinton said that her campaign is focused on bringing more love and kindness to America, and that she does not support hate or condone violence—as she believes Trump incites in his supporters.
“We will not tolerate racism and sexism and misogyny and Islamophobia and xenophobia and the terrible anti-immigrant rhetoric that Trump has engaged in,” she said. “And that violence is not the answer to anything.”