WASHINGTON (AP): Donald Trump’s running mate Mike Pence is standing by his refusal to describe white supremacist David Duke as “deplorable.”

Pence was asked at a news conference Tuesday with House Republican leaders whether he wanted to amend his statement from an interview Monday in which he denounced Duke, but declined to call him “deplorable.” Hillary Clinton has used the term “basket of deplorables” to describe half of Trump’s supporters.

Pence said he was “not going to validate the language Hillary Clinton used to describe the American people.” He called the issue a distraction.