Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, returning to centre stage at the virtual Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, said Donald Trump’s presidency has been “dangerous” and called on Democrats to vote as early as possible.
“I wish Donald Trump had been a better president. But, sadly, he is who he is,” Clinton, the Democratic Party’s 2016 presidential nominee, said on the third night of the 2020 convention.
“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 worse, ‘I should have voted,’” Clinton continued.
“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. If you vote in person, do it early,” she said.
“Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line, because they are.”
Clinton had already endorsed Democratic nominee Joe Biden for president at a virtual “Women’s Town Hall” in April, at which time she noted that she and Biden had “a lot of the same values in common.”
While she has thrown her full support behind the former vice president, Clinton and Biden had a long rivalry behind the scenes, according to a New York Times report in 2015.
Clinton’s speech was reminiscent of another emotional moment when she spoke to the Democratic Party at large: after she lost the 2016 election to Trump.
Following that loss, Clinton remained a vocal public presence, often using Twitter to jab at Trump’s policies and the various scandals plaguing his administration.
“There’s a lot of heartbreak in America right now ― and the truth is, many things were broken before the pandemic,” Clinton said on Wednesday.
“But, as the saying goes, the world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places,” she added. “Joe Biden knows how to heal, unify and lead because he’s done all of that for his family and his country.”
Clinton spoke the same night as rising Democratic star and California Sen. Kamala Harris, whom Biden has chosen as his running mate.