GOP strategist Rick Wilson was confronted for his derogatory comments toward supporters of President Trump.
Will Chamberlain, editor-in-chief of the conservative outlet Human Events, challenged Wilson for calling Trump supporters “tin-toothed rubes” and illiterate at a panel Saturday during the “Summit on Principled Conservatism” conference in Washington, D.C.
“Your fellow panelist has called Trump supporters ‘tin-toothed rubes’ and has referred to them as being unable to read. Do you think those comments are appropriate?” Chamberlain asked Tim Miller, a Bulwark contributor, who responded by saying he disagreed with Wilson’s comments.
Wilson stuck by his comments when he responded to Chamberlain.
“Everyone in this room has a principled conservative stand, okay? And I’m sorry that the ‘f— your feelings’ crowd can’t take the fact that I’m a pirate and that I talk the way I do,” Wilson said to Chamberlain.
“The fact of the matter is, I’m not going to give you a participation trophy and let you wear some mantle of victimization because you’ve embraced a guy who puts kids in cages,” Wilson continued before Chamberlain noted, “That was started with Obama.”
“You embraced a guy who shits on the rule of law of the Constitution … and if I call you a name, tough,” Wilson said.
Wilson has recently been in the media spotlight for his insults against Trump voters, remarks some deemed “elitist.” While discussing a feud between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and NPR on CNN last month, Wilson, a frequent Trump critic, shifted the conversation to discuss Trump’s voters, suggesting they could not find Ukraine on a map.
“[Pompeo] also knows deep in his heart that Donald Trump couldn’t find Ukraine on a map if you had the letter ‘U’ and a picture of an actual, physical crane next to it,” he said, prompting laughter from CNN host Don Lemon.
“He knows that this is, you know, an administration defined by ignorance of the world, and so, that’s partly him playing to their base and playing to their audience. You know, the credulous boomer rube demo that backs Donald Trump,” he said.
Wilson then impersonated Trump voters while speaking in a heavy Southern accent. “Donald Trump’s the smart one — and y’all elitists are dumb,” he said. During the segment, Wilson insinuated Trump voters reject geography, maps, spelling, math, and reading.
