You turn to us for voices you won't hear anywhere else.

Sign up for Democracy Now!'s Daily Digest to get our latest headlines and stories delivered to your inbox every day.

Hillary Clinton Accepts Historic Nomination, Says Election is a “Moment of Reckoning”

Listen
Media Options
Listen

In our second hour of coverage of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s historic speech at the Democratic National Convention, we play excerpts of her address, along with LGBT rights activist Sarah McBride, who became the first openly transgender woman to speak at a major-party convention.

Related Story

StoryJul 29, 2016The DNC Protests You Didn’t See on TV: Sanders Delegates Chant and Walk Out on Clinton Speech
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is “Breaking with Convention: War, Peace and the Presidency.” I’m Amy Goodman. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made history by becoming the first woman to accept a major-party presidential nomination. During her acceptance speech Thursday night, Clinton said the country is at a moment of reckoning.

HILLARY CLINTON: We have to heal the divides in our country, not just on guns, but on race, immigration and more. And that starts with listening, listening to each other, trying as best we can to walk in each other’s shoes. So let’s put ourselves in the shoes of young black and Latino men and women, who face the effects of systemic racism and are made to feel like their lives are disposable. Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of police officers kissing their kids and spouses goodbye every day, heading off to do a dangerous and necessary job. We will reform our criminal justice system from end to end and rebuild trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. And we will defend—we will defend all our rights—civil rights, human rights and voting rights, women’s rights and workers’ rights, LGBT rights and the rights of people with disabilities.

AMY GOODMAN: Hillary Clinton thanked her Democratic challenger, Bernie Sanders, and repeatedly took jabs at Republican nominee Donald Trump.

HILLARY CLINTON: In Atlantic City, 60 miles from here, you will find contractors and small businesses who lost everything because Donald Trump refused to pay his bills.

DELEGATES: Boo!

HILLARY CLINTON: Now, remember what the president said last night: “Don’t boo. Vote.” But think of this: People who did the work and needed the money, not because he couldn’t pay them, but because he wouldn’t pay them, he just stiffed them. And you know that sales pitch he’s making to be president—put your faith in him, and you’ll win big—that’s the same sales pitch he made to all those small businesses. Then Trump walked away and left working people holding the bag.

He also talks a big game about putting America first. Well, please explain what part of “America first” leads him to make Trump ties in China, not Colorado; Trump suits in Mexico, not Michigan; Trump furniture in Turkey, not Ohio; Trump picture frames in India, not Wisconsin? Donald Trump says he wants to make America great again. Well, he could start by actually making things in America again.

AMY GOODMAN: Speakers during the final night of the convention included LGBT rights activist Sarah McBride, who became the first openly transgender woman to speak at a major-party convention.

SARAH McBRIDE: Four years ago, I came out as transgender while serving as student body president in college. At the time, I was scared. I worried that my dreams and my identity were mutually exclusive. Since then, though, I’ve seen that change is possible. I witnessed history interning at the White House and helping my home state of Delaware pass protections for transgender people. … Will we be a nation where there’s only one way to love, only one way to look and only one way to live? Or will we be a nation where everyone has the freedom to live openly and equally, a nation that’s stronger together?

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Next story from this daily show

Rev. William Barber at the DNC: We Need to Revive the Heart of Our Democracy

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top