Hillary Clinton chokes up reading from her prepared 2016 victory speech
More than five years after election night 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is revisiting the victory speech she "hoped to" deliver.
Clinton read parts of her prepared 2016 victory speech in a MasterClass lesson revealed in a preview of this week's Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist. "I've never shared this with anybody," she says. "I've never read it out loud."
The speech opens, "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."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Clinton would have gone on to say that Americans during the 2016 campaign were "challenged to choose between two very different visions for America" and that voters in the end reached for "unity" and "decency." Clinton then would have celebrated the historic nature of the election of the first female president.
"In America, every boy and every girl can grow up to be whatever they dream, even president of the United States," she reads. "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."
At one point during the reading, Clinton choked up as she spoke about her late mother, wishing she could have told her about the election outcome. "I dream of going up to her and sitting down next to her, taking her in my arms, and saying, 'Look at me. Listen to me. You will survive,'" Clinton says. The speech would have concluded with Clinton telling Americans that "we will make America even greater than it has ever been."
Clinton said that by sharing the speech she never got to deliver, she was facing "one of my most public defeats head-on." The former Democratic candidate has previously said she didn't prepare a concession speech for election night "because I really thought I was going to win."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Homes by renowned architectsFeature Featuring a Leonard Willeke Tudor Revival in Detroit and modern John Storyk design in Woodstock
-
Looming drone ban has farmers and farm-state Republicans anxiousIN THE SPOTLIGHT As congressional China-hawks work to limit commercial drone sales from Beijing, a growing number of conservative lawmakers are sounding an agricultural alarm
-
Mind-expanding podcasts you may have missed this fallThe Week Recommends True crime, a book club and a therapeutic outlet led this season’s best podcasts
-
Canada joins EU’s $170B SAFE defense fundspeed read This makes it the first non-European Union country in the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative
-
Appeals court disqualifies US Attorney Alina HabbaSpeed Read The former personal attorney to President Donald Trump has been unlawfully serving as US attorney for New Jersey, the ruling says
-
White House says admiral ordered potential war crimeSpeed Read The Trump administration claims Navy Vice Adm. Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley ordered a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat, not Pete Hegseth
-
Honduras votes amid Trump push, pardon vowspeed read President Trump said he will pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who is serving 45 years for drug trafficking
-
Congress seeks answers in ‘kill everybody’ strike reportSpeed Read Lawmakers suggest the Trump administration’s follow-up boat strike may be a war crime
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
