Political risk for all in Trump-Clinton 'deplorables' debate

WASHINGTON (AP) — A war of words over Donald Trump's "deplorables" is intensifying as Republicans and Democrats fight for political points over Hillary Clinton's claim that many of the New York billionaire's supporters are racist, sexist and homophobic.

Trump and his allies across the country insisted Tuesday that the Democratic presidential nominee's comments reflect an out-of-touch elitist who looks down on working-class voters, akin to 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney's assertion that 47 percent of Americans would never vote for him because they were dependent on the government.

[...] former KKK leader David Duke offered fresh praise for the way that Trump and running mate Mike Pence are handling the controversy.

"Let's remember that, weird as it may seem, a lot of voters are only just now tuning in, so they may not be aware of the fact that David Duke, various KKK organizations, the alt-right en masse, Vladimir Putin and other foreign authoritarian enemies of America — people who really are deplorable — are supporting Trump," said Liz Mair, a Washington-based Republican operative and a vocal Trump critic.

Back on the deplorables' front, Indiana Gov. Pence, Trump's vice presidential running mate, refused anew on Tuesday to say whether white supremacist Duke was deplorable.

Rob Gleason, the chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party said it made sense for Trump's campaign to take advantage of the issue, quickly cutting an ad and using it as a rallying cry.