It's on. The 2016 presidential race is now about which candidate has said worse things about American voters.
Hillary Clinton released her newest cable television ad Tuesday morning, highlighting a long list of insults by Donald Trump against a disabled reporter, women, Muslims, Sen. John McCain and others. It was in response to Trump's ad released Monday making hay of Clinton's comment that half of Trump's supporters are a "basket of deplorables."
The new Clinton ad is similar to others her campaign has aired, in that they rely almost entirely on footage of Trump in his own words.
It begins and ends with Trump's statement, made at a rally Monday, that "you can't lead this nation if you have such a low opinion for its citizens." In between, it shows Trump insulting people and calling them "losers."
Trump's campaign has been eager to highlight Clinton's "basket of deplorables" line because it plays into a larger theme he is pushing: that she is an elitist who looks down on the working class and attacks them as intolerant.
Clinton's campaign sees its own opening, believing that Clinton will easily win the battle of which candidate has lobbed the most insults.
Until now, Trump has criticized Clinton and others for being "politically correct" and worrying too much about offending people with words.