Washington Post reporter Jennifer Rubin stirred emotions by tweeting that the Republican Party is a party that caters to the interests of “the non-college educated.”
She made the tweet in response to a tweet by author Tom Nichols, who speculated that GOP lawmakers, who en masse support Trump, is the “regional party” of the US South and Mountain Regions – where most red states are located.
“Listening to this debate on the radio rather than watching it on TV really brings out the similar speech patterns and accents of the Trump defenders. Make of that what you will. Seems to me the GOP is headed for becoming a rump regional party of the South and the mountains,” Nichols wrote.
“And the non-college educated,” Rubin added.
Unsurprisingly, the comment sparked a tidal wave of criticism.
Media Research Center Vice President Dan Gainor suggested that while Rubin calls herself a “conservative blogger,” she instead acted like an “outright bigot,” everything but embracing the worst of the leftist agenda.
“She has embraced every leftist hatred of the right -- including saying that people who have Southern accents are the ‘the non-college educated,’” Gainor said. “She's become the ultimate example of how ignorant, out-of-touch and mean-spirited journalism has become.”
Twitter users blasted Rubin not only for presuming that all who support Trump have no college education, but also for implying that those without a degree are something akin to second-class citizens and do not deserve to be considered in the public discourse.
“For all his other faults, Trump has a knack for getting his political opponents to reveal they were always more repugnant than he was all along; they just did a better job at sociopathically hiding it until he drove them crazy,” one commenter offered.
Others compared the dismissive attitude to the famous “basket of deplorables” gaffe delivered by Hillary Clinton, which reportedly contributed to the failure of her 2016 presidential bid.
“Smug sanctimonious sneering at the wrong voters worked so well in 2016, it’ll be a great plan in 2020,” one commenter stated.
The Washington Post has not yet commented on the offending tweet.