Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton touted Joe Biden’s candidacy at the Democratic convention as she replayed parts of her own 2016 loss – and urged people to get out and vote so President Donald Trump doesn’t ‘steal’ the election.
Speaking from her home in Chappaqua, New York, the former first lady and Democratic presidential nominee spoke admiringly about Biden and his policy agenda, and repeatedly mentioned his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris.
‘And don’t forget Joe and Kamala can win by 3 million votes and still lose – take it from me,’ she said with a chuckle – pointing to her popular vote win that still didn’t get her to the White House due to the electoral college system.
‘So we need numbers overwhelming, so Trump can’t sneak or steal his way to victory,’ Clinton warned.
She was echoing concerns raised by Biden, on a day the White House refused to say definitively Trump would accept the election results.
But her placement on the night saw her speech run before the 10pm start of network television coverage, and before a min-documentary praising Nancy Pelosi, who gave the next speech, making the Speaker – not the 2016 runner-up – the bigger star of the house.
In her speech Clinton hammered Trump, who called to ‘lock her up’ during his campaign and continues to bring her up repeatedly.
‘As Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders warned us, if Trump is reelected things will get even worse. That’s why we need unity now more than ever,’ she said, wearing white as the convention marked the centennial of women’s suffrage.
‘Remember back in 2016 when Trump asked: ‘What do you have to lose?’ Well, now we know. Our health care, our jobs our loved ones. Our leadership in the world and even our post office,’ said Clinton.
‘But let’s set our sights higher than getting one man out of the White House,’ she said, breezing through Biden’s policy agenda in her brief remarks.
Condemnation: Hillary Clinton launched an attack on Donald Trump and also rehashed her 2016 campaign
She said there was ‘so much to vote for,’ mentioning climate change, ‘caregiving living wages,’ emergency relief, and confronting an economy that allowed billionaires to get ‘$400 billion richer’ during the pandemic.
She spoke for less than 7 minutes – longer than the time her husband Bill Clinton got.
The former first lady’s remarks were followed by a video tribute leading into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s remarks. It showed the future congresswoman and pathbreaker as a child, with images of her family and her first run for Congress.
Pelosi, who has become the primary opposition to Trump, was quoted making her own ‘marble ceiling’ line upon assuming the speakership in 2007, predating Clinton’s ‘glass ceiling’ line in 2016, with images of her first congressional win.
The Pelosi video also featured some of her battles with President Donald Trump that have made her an icon among the Democratic faithful. First was when she fought with the president during a December 2018 Oval Office meeting about a government shutdown. Afterward Pelosi walked out of the White House, wearing an orange coat and donning her sunglasses – an image that went viral.
The video also showed a photo from an October 2019 meeting in the White House that saw Democrats walk out over, charging Trump with having a meltdown. The White House released a photo showing Pelosi standing up, finger pointed at Trump. She made it her Twitter profile picture.
‘As Speaker, I’ve seen firsthand Donald Trump’s disrespect for facts, for working families, and for women in particular,’ Pelosi said. ‘But we know what he doesn’t: that when women succeed, America succeeds.’
She also touted Biden’s support for women.
Bigger star: Nancy Pelosi was given a documentary film treatment immediately after Hillary Clinton presenting her as a bigger star – a recognition that she is the most powerful woman in American history
Address: Nancy Pelosi delivered her speech from San Francisco, dressed like Hillary Clinton in white in recognition of 100 years of the 19th Amendment, the end of the long struggle for women’s suffrage
‘Joe Biden is the President we need right now: battle-tested, forward-looking, honest and authentic. He has never forgotten where he comes from and who he fights for,’ she said.
‘Our nation faces the worst health and economic catastrophe in our history: more than 5 million Americans are infected by the coronavirus,’ Pelosi said. ‘And who is standing in the way? [Sen.] Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump. Instead of crushing the virus, they’re trying to crush the Affordable Care Act—and its protections for preexisting conditions.’
During her speech, Clinton warned voters not to let 2020 be a ‘coulda shoulda woulda election’ and said people still come up to her they wish they had not voted for her 2016 rival.
Clinton told convention viewers people come to her to justify their votes for Trump or express that they didn’t cast a ballot.
‘For four years, people have said to me, ‘I didn’t realize how dangerous he was.’ ‘I wish I could go back and do it over.’ Or worst, ‘I should have voted,’ Clinton said.
Hillary Clinton, with Joe Biden in the background, campaigning in Scranton. She will speak Wednesday about the 2016 election, saying people still approach her to say the didn’t know ‘how dangerous’ Donald Trump was when they voted for him
‘Well, this can’t be another woulda coulda shoulda election. If you vote by mail, request your ballot now, and send it back as soon as you can,’ she continues. ‘If you vote in person, do it early. Bring a friend and wear a mask. Become a poll worker. Most of all, no matter what, vote. Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line, because they are.’
Clinton, speaking a night after her husband Bill Clinton gave a 5-minute video address, echoed a theme of the convention: Trump ‘is who he is.’ She is resurrecting a withering line by former first lady Michelle Obama, who also included a similar line in her well-received speech, after Trump used the phrase while explaining the thousands of coronavirus deaths in the country during the pandemic.
‘I wish Donald Trump had been a better president. But, sadly, he is who he is. America needs a president who shows the same compassion, determination, and leadership in the White House that we see in our communities,’ Clinton said.
‘For four years, people have said to me, ‘I didn’t realize how dangerous he was.’ ‘I wish I could go back and do it over,’ Clinton will say
Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attend a portrait unveiling ceremony for retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in Russell Building’s Kennedy Caucus Room, December 08, 2016
‘Throughout this crisis, Americans have kept going – checking on neighbors, showing up to jobs as first responders and in hospitals, grocery stores, and nursing homes. Because it still takes a village,’ she said, quoting her own book.
The ex-candidate who spoke of the highest ‘glass ceiling’ throughout her 2016 campaign also invoked the historic fight for the vote by women – at a time when Biden holds a big edge over Trump with women but trails among men.
Hillary Clinton accepts the Democratic Party nomination as their candidate for president on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 28, 2016
In this image from video, Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden smiles after the roll call vote during the second night of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020
‘100 years ago yesterday, the 19th Amendment was ratified. It took seven decades of suffragists marching, picketing, and going to jail to push us closer to a more perfect union. 55 years ago, John Lewis marched and bled in Selma because that work was unfinished,’ she said.
Now it is Biden running mate California Sen. Kamala Harris who is positioned as the female politician with the perhaps the best chance of reaching Clinton’s unfulfilled White House dream.
‘There’s a lot of heartbreak in America right now – and the truth is, many things were broken before the pandemic. But, as the saying goes, the world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places. Joe Biden knows how to heal, unify, and lead, because he’s done all of that for his family and his country.’
READ HILLARY CLINTON’S FULL CONVENTION SPEECH
Good evening.
After the last election, I said, ‘We owe Donald Trump an open mind and the chance to lead.’ I really meant it. Every president deserves that. And Trump walked into the Oval Office with so much set up for him: A strong economy. Plans for managing crises—like a pandemic.
Yes, we Democrats would have disagreed with him on many, many things. But if he had put his own interests and ego aside—if he could have seen the humanity in a child ripped from her parents at the border or a protester calling for justice or a family whose home was destroyed by a wildfire who happened to live in a blue state—if he had even tried to govern well and lead us all—he might have proved us wrong. And that would have been a good thing, for America and the world.
I wish Donald Trump had been a better president. Because America needs a better president than this.
America needs a president who shows the same compassion, determination, and leadership in the White House that we see in our communities. Throughout this crisis, Americans have kept going—checking on neighbors, showing up to jobs at grocery stores and nursing homes. Because it still takes a village.
We need leaders equal to this moment. We need Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Everyone has a story about Joe’s thoughtfulness and empathy. I remember him calling after my mother, Dorothy, died. We talked about being raised by strong, no-nonsense women. When I walked with him through the house where he grew up in Scranton, he remembered every detail—about the house, the neighborhood, the people who lived there, and the values they shared. There is no better testament to Joe’s character than his family—including his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, who has said she will keep her teaching job as First Lady. That’s outstanding.
And boy, did Joe, pick the right partner in Kamala Harris—another daughter of an extraordinary mother. Kamala is relentless in the pursuit of justice, and uncommonly kind. When her press secretary Tyrone Gayle, a remarkable young man who had also worked on my campaign, was dying of cancer, she dropped everything to be with him in his final moments. Because that’s who she is.
I know a thing or two about the slings and arrows coming her way. Kamala can handle them all.
This is the team to pull our nation back from the brink and build back better. But they can’t do it
without all of us.
For four years, people have said to me, ‘I didn’t realize how dangerous he was.’ ‘I wish I could go back and do it over.’ ‘I should have voted.’ This can’t be another woulda-coulda-shoulda election. If you’re voting by mail, request your ballot now, and send it back as soon as you can. If you vote in person, do it early. Bring a friend and wear a mask. Become a poll worker.
Most of all, no matter what, vote. And convince everyone you know to vote.
Remember in 2016 when Trump asked: ‘What do you have to lose?’ Well, now we know: our health, our jobs, even our lives. Our leadership in the world and, yes, our post office. As Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders warned us on Monday: If Trump is re-elected, it will get even worse. My friends, we need unity now more than ever.
But let’s set our sights higher than getting one man out of the White House. Let’s vote for the jobs Joe will create, and for emergency relief that lifts small businesses and hardworking people. Because it’s wrong that the wealthiest Americans got $400 billion richer during the pandemic while 40 million people lost their jobs.
Vote for parents struggling to balance their child’s education and their safety. And for health care workers fighting COVID-19 with no help from the White House. Vote for paid family leave and health care for everyone. Vote to protect Social Security, Medicare, reproductive rights, and our planet.
Vote for DREAMers and their families. For law enforcement that serves and respects communities of color. Vote for justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, because Black Lives Matter.
Vote to make sure we—not a foreign adversary—choose our president.
Vote for the America we saw in the roll call last night: diverse, compassionate, full of energy and hope. Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line, because they are.
Remember: Joe and Kamala can win 3 million more votes and still lose. Take. It. From. Me. We need numbers so overwhelming Trump can’t sneak or steal his way to victory. So text VOTE to 30330 and let’s go win.
One hundred years ago yesterday, the 19th Amendment was ratified. It took seven decades of suffragists marching, picketing, and going to jail to push us closer to that more perfect union. Fifty-five years ago, John Lewis marched and bled in Selma because that work was unfinished.
Tonight I am thinking of the girls and boys who see themselves in America’s future because of Kamala Harris—a Black woman, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, and our nominee for Vice President of the United States. This is our country’s story: breaking down barriers and expanding the circle of possibility.
So to all the young people: Don’t give up on America. Despite our flaws and problems, we have come so far. And we can still be a more just and equal country, full of opportunities previous generations could never have imagined.
There’s a lot of heartbreak in America right now—and the truth is, many things were broken before the pandemic. But, as the saying goes, the world breaks everyone at one point or another, and afterward, many are stronger in the broken places. Joe Biden knows how to heal, because he’s done it himself.
So come November, we will be strong together. We will heal together. We will redeem the soul and promise of this country together. We will elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris—together.
READ NANCY PELOSI’S FULL SPEECH TO THE DNC
Good evening. As Speaker of the House, it is my honor to bring you the greetings of the Democrats of the House—the most diverse majority in history: more than 60 percent women, people of color, and LGBTQ.
This month, as America marks the centennial of women finally winning the right to vote, we do so with 105 women in the House of Representatives. Proudly, 90 are Democrats.
To win the vote, for three quarters of a century, women marched and fought and never gave in. We stand on their shoulders—charged with carrying forward the unfinished work of our nation advanced by heroes from Seneca Falls, to Selma, to Stonewall.
Four years ago, when we came together, President Obama and Vice President Biden were in the White House. They made us proud—and their leadership made our country great. In that spirit, we come together again, not to decry the darkness, but to light a way forward for our country.
That is the guiding purpose of House Democrats. We are fighting for the people. We have sent the GOP Senate landmark bills for:
● Lower health costs by lowering prescription drug prices
● Bigger paychecks by rebuilding America’s infrastructure
● Cleaner government by saving voting rights in the name of John Lewis—and saving lives by enacting the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
We have sent the Senate bills to protect our dreamers, to advance LGBTQ equality, to prevent gun violence, to preserve our planet for future generations, and even more.
All of this is possible for America. Who is standing in the way? Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump.
Our nation faces the worst health and economic catastrophe in our history: more than 5 million Americans are infected by the coronavirus. Over 170,000 have died. The serious, science based action in the Heroes Act we sent the Senate three months ago is essential to safeguard lives, livelihoods and the life of our democracy.
And who is standing in the way? Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump. Instead of crushing the virus, they’re trying to crush the Affordable Care Act—and its protections for preexisting conditions!
As Speaker, I’ve seen firsthand Donald Trump’s disrespect for facts, for working families, and for women in particular—disrespect written into his policies toward our health and our rights, not just his conduct. But we know what he doesn’t: that when women succeed, America succeeds. And so we are unleashing the full power of women to take their rightful place in every part of our national life by:
• Championing a woman’s right to choose and defending Roe v. Wade
• Securing an historic guarantee for child care that is safe and affordable
• Preserving Social Security and passing equal pay for equal work!
Who is standing in the way? Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump.
So here is our answer: we will see them in November.
We will elect President Biden—whose heart is full of love for America—and rid the country of Trump’s heartless disregard for America’s goodness. Joe Biden’s faith in God gives him the courage to lead. Jill Biden’s love gives him the strength to persevere.
Joe Biden is the President we need right now: battle-tested, forward-looking, honest and authentic. He has never forgotten where he comes from and who he fights for. Joe Biden will build a fairer America that works for all, not just the few—and a stronger America respected around the world.
And Kamala Harris is the Vice President we need right now—committed to our Constitution, brilliant in defending it, and a witness to the women of this nation that their voices will be heard.
Our mission and our pledge is to fight for a future equal to the ideals of our founders, our hopes for our children, and the sacrifices of our veterans, our brave men and women in uniform—and their families.
We will increase our majority in the House;
We will win a Democratic Senate;
We will elect Kamala Harris vice president and Joe Biden president of the United States of America.
God bless each of you and God bless America.
