2016 Dec 19^th

Way back in early September Hillary Clinton said that half of Trump’s supporters were deplorable, that they were racist, misogynist, homophobic, etc., etc.. Later she took it back; well, she sort of took it back. She said that she had generalized and that it probably wasn’t really half. Whatever proportion it is, it is not trivial and “deplorable” is too complimentary a label for many of them.

Here is an example of their behavior, behavior encouraged by Trump himself. An eighteen-year-old St. Anselm college student, Lauren Batchelder, attended a Trump rally in New Hampshire and was given the microphone to Ask Trump a question or two. She said that she didn’t believe he was a friend of women and would he favor equal pay for them…and would they be able to control their own bodies.

Trump claimed that they would be paid equally if thy produced equally and that he was pro-life; that latter meaning that of course their bodies weren’t their own once they got pregnant. (Presumably, once they got pregnant their bodies belonged to the state.)

Trump then in several tweets accuse Batchelder of being a Bush plant sent to disrupt his rally. Batchelder was a Bush intern but Bush is just as pro-life as Trump so that accusation makes no sense. Then the deplorables set to work.

Batchelder told the Post that her voicemail, Facebook feed and email inboxes began filling up with anonymous threats of bodily harm that were often sexual. As Trump supporters circulated her address online, she left campus in fear.

Even a year later, Batchelder says the harassment hasn’t stopped. She told the Post that five days before the election, she received a Facebook message that said, “Wishing I could f***ing punch you in the face. I’d then proceed to stomp your head on the curb and urinate in your bloodied mouth and I know where you live, so watch your f***ing back punk.”

But Trump can’t imagine his supporters doing anything like that: The president-elect says: "If my many supporters acted and threatened people like those who lost the election are doing, they would be scorned & called terrible names!"

In fact, Trump and his supporters have threatened people before. He frequently whipped up audiences at his huge rallies by railing against reporters, immigrants, Muslims and his critics. He repeatedly threatened news outlets with lawsuits. And he and his supporters have bombarded his critics on Twitter.

Then, the ultimate Irony, Ivanka Trump his daughter who will function as his first lady, says her first priority will be an effort to reduce cyber-bullying.