Hillary Clinton Gets Emotional Sharing 2016 Victory Speech

Former secretary of state reveals words she would've spoken had she won against Trump
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 9, 2021 8:47 AM CST
Hillary Clinton Gets Emotional Sharing 2016 Victory Speech
Hillary Clinton is seen at the Louvre Carrousel in Paris on June 30, 2021.   (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

It was the speech that never was, and it's been tucked away for five years. Now, however, Hillary Clinton is finally revealing the words she would've spoken had she won the 2016 election instead of Donald Trump, something she's "never shared ... with anybody." "In this lesson, I'm going to face one of my most public defeats head-on," the 74-year-old former secretary of state, senator, first lady, and Democratic nominee for president said before launching into a reading of the speech, in a Today show preview for her MasterClass session on resilience set to debut Thursday, per the Hill. It was a speech long in the making: The Washington Post reminds us that Clinton also ran for the Democratic nomination in 2008 but was ultimately bested by Barack Obama. Some notable excerpts from the speech:

  • How it kicks off: "My fellow Americans, today you sent a message to the whole world: Our values endure, our democracy stands strong, and our motto remains 'e pluribus unum,' out of many, one."
  • On becoming the first woman president: "I've met women who were born before women had the right to vote. They've been waiting 100 years for tonight. I've met little boys and girls who didn't understand why a woman has never been president before. Now they know, and the world knows, that in America, every boy and every girl can grow up to be whatever they dream, even president of the United States."
  • Emotional words on what she would've said to the 8-year-old version of her late mother, Dorothy Rodham, who grew up in an abusive household: "Look at me. Listen to me. You will survive. You will have a good family of your own, and three children. And as hard as it might be to imagine, your daughter will grow up and become the president of the United States."
  • How it ends: "America is the greatest country in the world, and from tonight going forward, together we will make America even greater than it has ever been, for each and every one of us. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless America."
Watch more here. (More Hillary Clinton stories.)

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