Thank you, that clarifies a bit.  In that context elitism is like bigotry and racism, in that a label relieves us of any further thought.  I've met people who will say "Well, you know how 'they' (liberals, conservatives, Latinos, Blacks......) are".  I guess accusing someone of 'elitism' is one of those things like conservative or liberal, often misidentified.   What you took as condescension from David Muir may have been only his disbelief that so many people believed Trump's line.