Why has "weird" had such an incredible punch to it, but "Deplorables" flopped hard and made things worse? There are several theories, probably all contributing lol, but I just think its interesting.
Theories
Its literally just because Hillary Clinton sucks so hard and people didnt want to hear that shit from her
Deplorables is too much of a vocabulary word, weird is a word everyone knows. So deplorable just comes off more elitist, from a woman who is already seen that way. To quote a friend I asked "I think deplorable has a negative connotation that speaks to core personhood, in a way that comes off as both mean spirited and elitist"
The GOP hadnt gotten unhinged enough yet, so America wasnt ready for a campaign that is dismissive of them and still expected bipartisan respect and shit, but are now because the "weird" shit is so out there all the time
"Weird" is simply a more effective word to describe the situation at hand
Deplorables would have worked fine with the young people who can vote now but couldnt in 2008.
Kamala and especially Walz are better representations of "not weird" than Hillary was a representation of "not deplorable".
"Weird" hits them harder, insults them worse, and thus makes them spiral more in a way deplorable didnt
Deplorable would have worked fine if it wasnt just a one off comment but a sustained campaign message (this one im thinking probably not)
The Vance effect, he's just that weird.
People who are tired of Democrats being respectful like weird a lot
"Deplorable" is the kind of word you use to describe out-there behavior that clearly crosses some sort of line. Some guy in the checkout line talking too loud about Trump isn't deplorable, but he is weird. Deplorable would be chanting "Jews will not replace us".
If you ignore belief, ignore what people say and only look at what they do; then most people who vote republican live functionally identical lives to people who vote democrat. Most of them won't go to a rally in Charlottesville or the capital (that's your outliers, people really plugged-in and feeling strongly about spectacle-politics), but they will have slightly weird answer if you asked them about it. "Weird" describes more of them than "deplorable" ever could.