Since she made them, a number of liberals have stepped forward to defend them, arguing that yes, half of Trump’s supporters really are deplorable bigots. At Bloomberg View, I argue that the evidence they adduce doesn’t justify this attack.

Byron York, meanwhile, says that the remarks were politically brilliant on Clinton’s part. It got Wolf Blitzer to ask Mike Pence if David Duke was deplorable, and when he refused to say so–”I’m not in the name-calling business, Wolf”–other journalists trumpeted the news while ignoring or downplaying the fact that Pence disavowed Duke’s support.

But any benefit Clinton has gained from this incident came courtesy of Pence. If he had just said, “Of course Duke is deplorable, Wolf, but it’s outrageous to suggest that the millions of people supporting our campaign are anything like him,” none of those headlines would have been written.