It would have been awful in its own way. Trump would have launched The Big Lie four years earlier and the Republicans would have made Clinton’s presidency a total shitshow. But the world would have been immensely better off anyway if only because it wouldn’t have to deal with that orange monster in the White House fior four years.
For the first time, Hillary Clinton is sharing the speech she would have made if she had won the 2016 presidential election.
The former first lady and secretary of state grows emotional in an upcoming MasterClass lesson as she shares the speech that she had hoped to give on Nov. 8, 2016, when she ultimately lost the election to former President Donald Trump.
Clinton’s speech is featured in her new talk on the power of resilience for MasterClass, the streaming platform featuring luminaries from all walks of life sharing what they have learned to inspire and teach others.
An excerpt of her speech was shared on TODAY Wednesday, and her full MasterClass will be released on Thursday. Clinton is also the guest on this week’s Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist to talk about her MasterClass appearance and her would-be presidential speech.
“In this lesson, I’m going to face one of my most public defeats head-on by sharing with you the speech I had hoped to deliver if I had won the 2016 election,” Clinton says in the video.
“I’ve never shared this with anybody. I’ve never read this out loud. But it helps to encapsulate who I am, what I believe in, and what my hopes were for the kind of country that I want for my grandchildren, and that I want for the world, that I believe in that is America at its best.”
In parts of the speech shared with TODAY, Clinton shares the remarks she had prepared if she had won the contentious election against Trump.
“My fellow Americans, today you sent a message to the whole world,” she says. “Our values endure. Our democracy stands strong. And our motto remains: e pluribus unum. Out of many, one.
“We will not be defined only by our differences. We will not be an us versus them country. The American dream is big enough for everyone. Through a long, hard campaign, we were challenged to choose between two very different visions for America. How we grow together, how we live together, and how we face a world full of peril and promise together.
“Fundamentally, this election challenged us to decide what it means to be an American in the 21st century. And for reaching for a unity, decency, and what President Lincoln called ‘the better angels of our nature.’ We met that challenge.”
Clinton then talks about the significance of what becoming the first female president in U.S. history would have meant.
“Today with your children on your shoulders, your neighbors at your side, friends old and new standing as one, you renewed our democracy,” she says. “And because of the honor you have given me, you have changed its face forever. I’ve met women who were born before women had the right to vote. They’ve been waiting a hundred 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.
“This is a victory for all Americans. Men and women. Boys and girls. Because as our country has proven once again, when there are no ceilings, the sky’s the limit.”
She also addresses the deep partisan divide in the country.
“If you dig deep enough through all the mud of politics, eventually you hit something hard and true,” she says. “A foundation of fundamental values that unite us as Americans. You proved that today.
“In a country divided by race and religion, class and culture, and often paralyzing partisanship, a broad coalition of Americans embraced a shared vision of a hopeful, inclusive, big-hearted America.
“An America where women are respected and immigrants are welcomed. Where veterans are honored, parents are supported, and workers are paid fairly. An America where we believe in science, where we look beyond people’s disabilities and see their possibilities, where marriage is a right and discrimination is wrong. No matter who you are, what you look like, where you come from, or who you love.
But her emails.
Here’s the whole segment: