Hillary Clinton angers Republicans by referring to Donald Trump supporters as ‘basket of deplorables’

Hillary Clinton said some of ­Donald Trump’s supporters could be classified as a “basket

of deplorables” – a remark that ­inflamed his Republican allies who pegged her remark as demeaning to voters.

A group of people backing the Republican nominee is “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic – you name it,” Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, said at a campaign fundraiser on Friday at Cipriani Wall Street, an upscale Italian restaurant in New York.

Clinton’s fundraisers have typically been closed to the press but a pool of journalists was ­permitted to hear her remarks. Tickets, targeted at lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender supporters, ranged from US$1,200 for a standard seat to US$250,000 or more to be listed as a host. The fundraiser drew a sold-out crowd of 1,000, her campaign said.

“Just when Hillary Clinton said she was going to start running a positive campaign, she ripped off her mask and revealed her true contempt for everyday Americans,“ Trump spokesman Jason Miller said in a statement.

Republican pollster Frank Luntz described Clinton’s ­comments as her “47 per cent ­moment,’ a reference to when ­Republican candidate Republican Mitt Romney said during a private fundraiser in the 2012 campaign that “47 per cent” of voters would choose to return Barack Obama to the White House because they are dependent upon government.

“Hillary Clinton just insulted millions of hard-working Americans simply because they don’t want to vote for her,” Luntz tweeted after Clinton’s comments swept social media.