Did potential Wisconsin US Senate candidate Eric Hovde once call most Americans deplorable?

In a 2016 interview with conservative Green Bay talk show host Jerry Bader, Madison businessman Eric Hovde said it’s “deplorable” how poorly most Americans are informed.

He did not say most Americans are deplorable.

“The sad thing was, what’s happened to this country, as most of your listeners know — and your listeners aren’t this because they’re well-informed people,” Hovde said.

“But most of the country, sadly, doesn’t even know what the heck is going on. They can’t even tell you when our country was founded, who the vice president (is), how many senators there are. It’s just deplorable at how low people are keeping themselves informed.”

Women focus too much on Hollywood and men too much on sports, Hovde said.

Hovde is a potential candidate to run against U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, in 2024.

He lost his bid for the Republican nomination to challenge Baldwin in 2012.