Theories

1. Its literally just because Hillary Clinton sucks so hard and people didnt want to hear that shit from her
2. 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"
3. 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
4. "Weird" is simply a more effective word to describe the situation at hand
5. Deplorables would have worked fine with the young people who can vote now but couldnt in 2008.
6. Kamala and especially Walz are better representations of "not weird" than Hillary was a representation of "not deplorable".
7. "Weird" hits them harder, insults them worse, and thus makes them spiral more in a way deplorable didnt
8. Deplorable would have worked fine if it wasnt just a one off comment but a sustained campaign message (this one im thinking probably not)
9. The Vance effect, he's just that weird.
10. People who are tired of Democrats being respectful like weird a lot