Kamala Harris Almost Has Her Own 'Basket of Deplorables' Moment but Pulls Back

Hillary Clinton’s notorious “basket of deplorables” comment has stuck with us eight years after her surprising defeat in 2016.

While the statement didn’t singlehandedly lose her the election, it revealed her condescending view of people who didn’t automatically reject Donald Trump. It became symbolic of the larger issues with her campaign — and the Democrats’ general attitude toward Trump supporters.

Since then, politicians running against Trump have been wary of making similar blunders. On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris came close to having her own version of this moment but managed to stop herself just in time.

Still, people took notice.

Harris’ near-miss occurred while she was campaigning in Wisconsin, a key swing state, alongside former Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, a staunch critic of Trump now supporting Democrats.

Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) highlighted that the event was moderated by Charlie Sykes, a former Republican talk show host who is also backing the Democrats.

WPR described Brookfield, where the event took place, as “a Republican-leaning city in Waukesha County, the largest of the so-called WOW counties in southeast Wisconsin that have historically been critical to GOP success in the state, and where Democrats have made inroads.”

Despite the political landscape, Harris’ discomfort in appealing for votes there became evident.

Sykes set the tone, commenting on how "it is not about politics. It’s not about left vs. right,” and lamented the current state of public debate: “We’re talking about the culture and the impact, the coarsening of the culture... how our debates have just devolved into sort of trolling one another. How do we get back from that?”

Harris attempted to respond, suggesting voters “tap into and rejoice, frankly, in the spirit of who we are as Americans.”

But it wasn’t for everyone.

She then veered into a problematic statement: “The notion over the last several years, coming from Trump and those who follow him — meaning people like who he’s running with, not his voters, but just others — um, the notion that the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down, it’s just wrong-headed.”

The way she quickly pivoted to clarify "meaning people like who he’s running with” seemed to suggest she realized she was walking into a potential "basket of deplorables" situation.

A video clip shared online captures the awkwardness, but it’s clear Harris wasn’t fully committed to the statement. In contrast to Hillary’s more direct comment, Harris’ words came across as tentative and unsure.

This half-hearted approach, however, didn’t go unnoticed. Social media users quickly pointed out the parallels, and the backpedaling itself became part of the narrative. Although it wasn’t as definitive as Clinton’s remark, Harris’ comments gave the same impression: a subtle disdain toward a certain segment of voters.

In the end, her attempt to distance herself from this kind of rhetoric was as unconvincing as the original comment itself.