Fact-Check: No, Hillary Clinton Did Not Apologize for ‘Basket of Deplorables’

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Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton claimed that she apologized for calling half of Donald Trump’s supporters a “basket of deplorables,” saying “within hours, I said that I was sorry about the way I talked about that.”

Fact-Check: FALSE

Clinton never apologized for the statement, despite what her running mate and other surrogates have claimed. 

Here is her full statement after her remarks emerged in the media. Note that the words “sorry” and “apologize” do not appear in any form, and that she merely says she “regret[s]” using the term “half.” She doubled-down on the term “deplorable.” 

Even the Huffington Post, openly hostile to Trump, said: “Clinton Stands By ‘Deplorables,’ But Walks Back The Basket Size A Bit.”

HuffPo noted that Clinton said: “I regret saying ‘half’ ― that was wrong.” But she did not apologize, and the reason she responded immediately was that she had been caught.

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