On Friday evening, Hillary Clinton held a conference call with supporters and campaign volunteers to thank them for their hard work and dedication during the campaign. Clinton said that while the loss was tough, we can still fight for the causes we believe in going forward. She urged everyone not to give up and to stay involved in the process. A recording from the call is below as well as an address where you can send thank you cards or letters to Clinton.
Hillary Rodham Clinton
PO Box 5256
New York, NY 10185-5256
Hillary Clinton delivered her concession speech this morning in New York City. In the speech, Clinton thanked Tim Kaine and Anne Holton, her family, and the Obamas for all their support on the campaign trail. She also thanked her staff, campaign volunteers, and everyone who has supported the campaign by voting or donating. Clinton asked that everyone not be discouraged by the results saying that she hopes Donald Trump will be “a successful president for all Americans.” She urged everyone to keep fighting for what they believe in saying, “This loss hurts, but please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it. It is, it is worth it. And so we need — we need you to keep up these fights now and for the rest of your lives. And to all the women, and especially the young women, who put their faith in this campaign and in me: I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion.” A video and transcript of Clinton’s speech is below.
TRANSCRIPT:
Thank you. Thank you all very much. Thank you so much. A very rowdy group. Thank you, my friends. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you so very much for being here. I love you all, too. Last night I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country.
I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans. This is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for, and I’m sorry we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country.
But I feel pride and gratitude for this wonderful campaign that we built together. This vast, diverse, creative, unruly, energized campaign. You represent the best of America, and being your candidate has been one of the greatest honors of my life.
I know how disappointed you feel, because I feel it too. And so do tens of millions of Americans who invested their hopes and dreams in this effort. This is painful, and it will be for a long time. But I want you to remember this.
Our campaign was never about one person, or even one election. It was about the country we love and building an America that is hopeful, inclusive, and big-hearted. We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought. But I still believe in America, and I always will. And if you do, then we must accept this result and then look to the future. Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead. Our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful transfer of power.
We don’t just respect that. We cherish it. It also enshrines the rule of law; the principle we are all equal in rights and dignity; freedom of worship and expression. We respect and cherish these values, too, and we must defend them.
Let me add: Our constitutional democracy demands our participation, not just every four years, but all the time. So let’s do all we can to keep advancing the causes and values we all hold dear. Making our economy work for everyone, not just those at the top, protecting our country and protecting our planet.
And breaking down all the barriers that hold any American back from achieving their dreams. We spent a year and a half bringing together millions of people from every corner of our country to say with one voice that we believe that the American dream is big enough for everyone.
For people of all races, and religions, for men and women, for immigrants, for LGBT people, and people with disabilities. For everyone.
I am so grateful to stand with all of you. I want to thank Tim Kaine and Anne Holton for being our partners on this journey.
It has been a joy get to go know them better and gives me great hope and comfort to know that Tim will remain on the front lines of our democracy representing Virginia in the Senate.
To Barack and Michelle Obama, our country owes you an enormous debt of gratitude.
We thank you for your graceful, determined leadership that has meant so much to so many Americans and people across the world. And to Bill and Chelsea, Mark, Charlotte, Aidan, our brothers and our entire family, my love for you means more than I can ever express.
You crisscrossed this country, even 4-month-old Aidan, who traveled with his mom. I will always be grateful to the talented, dedicated men and women at our headquarters in Brooklyn and across our country.
You poured your hearts into this campaign. To some of you who are veterans, it was a campaign after you had done other campaigns. Some of you, it was your first campaign. I want each of you to know that you were the best campaign anybody could have ever expected or wanted.
And to the millions of volunteers, community leaders, activists and union organizers who knocked on doors, talked to their neighbors, posted on Facebook — even in secret private Facebook sites.
I want everybody coming out from behind that and make sure your voices are heard going forward.
To anyone that sent contributions, even as small as $5, that kept us going, thank you. To all of us, and to the young people in particular, I hope you will hear this — I have, as Tim said, I have spent my entire life fighting for what I believe in.
I’ve had successes and setbacks and sometimes painful ones. Many of you are at the beginning of your professional, public, and political careers — you will have successes and setbacks too.
This loss hurts, but please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it.
It is, it is worth it.
And so we need — we need you to keep up these fights now and for the rest of your lives. And to all the women, and especially the young women, who put their faith in this campaign and in me: I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion.
Now, I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but someday someone will — and hopefully sooner than we might think right now.
And to all of the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams.
Finally, finally, I am so grateful for our country and for all it has given to me.
I count my blessings every single day that I am an American, and I still believe, as deeply as I ever have, that if we stand together and work together with respect for our differences, strengthen our convictions, and love for this nation, our best days are still ahead of us.
Because, you know, I believe we are stronger together and we will go forward together. And you should never, ever regret fighting for that. You know, scripture tells us, let us not grow weary of doing good, for in good season we shall reap. My friends, let us have faith in each other, let us not grow weary and lose heart, for there are more seasons to come and there is more work to do.
I am incredibly honored and grateful to have had this chance to represent all of you in this consequential election. May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America.
President Barack Obama also held a press conference today in which he congratulated Trump on his victory and committed to a smooth transition of power. Obama said that he will meet with Trump at the White House on Thursday. He said that he is dedicated to ensuring a successful transition of power because that is how American democracy works. Obama added, “We are now all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country.” A video of his speech is below.
This morning, Bill and Hillary Clinton voted at their local precinct in Chappaqua, New York. They met with voters waiting in line before casting their ballots. In Richmond, Virginia Clinton’s running mate Tim Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton, cast their ballots as well. There is still plenty of time to get out and vote! To find your polling location, visit iwillvote.com.
Tim Kaine and Anne Holton campaigned in North Carolina and Virginia on the final day of the campaign. Kaine and Holten began the day in North Carolina where they spoke at events in Charlotte and Wilmington. Kaine spoke about the importance of the election and the high stakes for the future of the country. He urged North Carolinians to get out and vote tomorrow because they are a key battleground state in this election. “Everybody’s watching you, North Carolina. If Hillary wins in North Carolina, take it to the bank, she’s president of the United States,” he said. Kaine urged everyone to consider the future and vote tomorrow. A video from the Charlotte event is below.
Kaine and Holton returned to Virginia where they held an event on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax. They were joined by Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden. The vice president spoke briefly introducing Kaine. When Kaine took the stage, he spoke about being back in Virginia and what is at stake in this election. He urged everyone to get out and vote tomorrow saying that he was proud of Virginia. “I like the energy I’m seeing in Virginia,” he said. A video from the event will be posted when/if available.
Kaine and Holton held their final event of the campaign in their hometown of Richmond. Kaine said that it was nice to be back in Virginia before asking everyone to get out and vote on Tuesday. Like Clinton, he spoke about the far reaching affects this election will have on the country’s future and urged everyone to consider the different visions of America presented by Trump and Clinton. He concluded by urging everyone to vote who has not already done so. A video from the event is below.
On Saturday, Jon Bon Jovi performed at a Get Out the Vote concert in St. Petersburg, Florida. Bon Jovi performed a number of his hits in between talking about the importance of the election and encouraging everyone to vote for Hillary Clinton. He was joined on stage by Clinton’s running mate, Tim Kaine, who spoke to crowd. Borrowing from Bon Jovi’s song lyrics, Kaine said, “I don’t wanna be another wave in the ocean. I’m rock, not just another grain of sand. We’re not just waves in the ocean, folks. And we’re not just grains of sand. We’ve got power. We’ve got power politically and nobody more than in Florida. If you put your votes behind Hillary Clinton, it is done. She will be President.” He then played the harmonica along with Bon Jovi. A video clip from the concert is below.
Tim Kaine returned to Florida on Saturday where he spoke about the importance of the election and Florida’s role on Tuesday. He urged everyone to vote because he wants Hillary Clinton to win Florida. Speaking on the campus of Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers, Kaine outlined a number of Clinton’s key platform plans including raising the minimum wage, creating new jobs by investing in infrastructure and American manufacturing, and making college more affordable. Kaine concluded by asking everyone to vote adding, “This is my ninth race. I’m 8 and 0, and I’m not planning on losing Tuesday. Here’s what I tell myself in every race I every run: I’m the underdog until they call me the winner.” A video from the event will be added when/if available.
Kaine then spoke at a get out the vote event in Sarasota where he focused on the importance of early voting and defeating Donald Trump. He spoke about the dangers of the vision painted by Trump and offered Clinton’s platform as an optimistic alternative. Kaine said that Clinton has worked her entire life for families and children, and she will not stop once elected. He concluded the event by urging everyone to vote on Tuesday or to take advantage of early voting. “I’m going to just get to the punchline: If you win it in Florida, it’s won,” he said. A video from the event is below.
On Tuesday, an op-ed by Tim Kaine was published by Time magazine in which he talks about gun violence and its threat to the public. Read the full editorial below.
In every elected office I have held over the past 20 years, gun violence has been a serious issue. When I was mayor of Richmond, Virginia, our city had one of the highest homicide rates in the country. When I was governor, our commonwealth experienced the worst campus shooting in U.S. history. And as I serve in the U.S. Senate and our country falls victim to one mass shooting after another, Congress has yet to pass any commonsense gun safety legislation. Like many Americans, I own a gun and am a proud supporter of the Second Amendment, yet my experiences have shown me that supporting the right to bear arms should never stop us from ensuring our communities are as safe as possible.
The worst day of my life was April 16, 2007. I had just arrived in Japan for a two-week trade mission. There was a knock on my hotel room door to inform me of an active shooter on the campus of one of my state’s universities, Virginia Tech. Half a world away, I watched the horrific tragedy unfold on television and made plans to return home as soon as possible. Thirty-two innocent lives— from all around the world, from all walks of life, students and professors alike—were lost that day. Seventeen others were shot and wounded, and another six were injured leaping from classroom windows to escape the carnage.
In the months and years that followed, we worked across the state to take concrete steps to reduce gun violence. The shooting revealed glaring weaknesses in campus security protocols at colleges and universities, in mental health standards, and in the system for background checks before gun purchases, so I convened a multidisciplinary panel to identify actionable solutions. We changed standards for mental health treatment and increased funding for community services while improving campus security and efforts to assist college students suffering from mental illness.
I also worked to make improvements to our background check system, issuing an executive order to ensure that those declared mentally ill and dangerous would be entered into a national database and barred from purchasing weapons. Unfortunately, efforts to close the gun show loophole—which allows anyone, including felons, potential terrorists, and domestic abusers, to purchase weapons without any background check—were undermined in the Virginia legislature, largely under pressure from the National Rifle Association.
When I arrived in the U.S. Senate in January 2013, our country was again reeling from another devastating tragedy: on December 14, 2012, twenty children and six adults were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. A group of Democrats and Republicans came together after this tragedy to draft compromise legislation that would have closed the gun show loophole and encouraged states to help strengthen the existing background check system. After months of debating, I was sure that this time would be different, that this time my colleagues would have the courage to stand up to the NRA and pass meaningful gun control reform to make our entire country safer. But the same special interests that prevented us from closing the gun show loophole in Virginia in the wake of Virginia Tech were at it again. Ultimately, a minority in the Senate prevented a majority from passing this meaningful, commonsense gun safety legislation.
More recently, in December 2015, the Senate failed to stand up to the NRA and rejected another commonsense bipartisan measure that would have made it illegal for people on the no-fly list to be prohibited from purchasing weapons. If someone has been deemed too dangerous to be allowed on an airplane, why should they be permitted to purchase a firearm?
We have to make a decision about what matters to us. When gun deaths in Virginia outnumber automobile deaths, we have to treat this like the public health crisis it is. Will we have the courage to stand up to a gun lobby that no longer represents the views of American gun owners but instead represents the gun manufacturers?
An overwhelming number of Americans—many of them gun owners—support commonsense efforts to reduce gun violence like background checks, but the NRA and the gun lobby vehemently oppose any efforts to make our country safer and to promote responsible gun ownership. It is in the gun manufacturers’ financial interest to sell as many guns as they can to whomever they can, whenever they can and wherever they can. That motive is what blocks so many states and even Congress from passing background check laws that would keep us safer.
Gun violence has been ever-present throughout my time in public service, but my past experiences have taught me that no matter how tough our problems may be, they pale in comparison to the combined will of the American people who are determined to make our communities safer. I look forward to the day when we, as elected officials and as Americans, live up to our responsibilities and put an end to this crisis.
Tim Kaine is a U.S. Senator from Virginia and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s running mate.
Tim Kaine campaigned in Wisconsin on Tuesday where he focused on the sharp contrast between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. At his first event in Appleton, Kaine spoke about the optimistic and inclusive platform assembled by Clinton, then compared it to the divisive plans proposed by Trump. Kaine also spoke about the two candidates’ different background. He spoke about Clinton’s passion for children and families and how she has fought for both during her long career. Meanwhile, Trump has been more focused on himself. Kaine concluded the event by speaking about the importance of Wisconsin to Clinton and himself and he urged everyone to take advantage of early voting or to head to the ballot box on November 8th. A video from the event is below.
Kaine then speak at a rally in Madison. He spoke about the importance of Wisconsin in the election saying that they are one of the key battleground states. Kaine spoke about Clinton’s platform and her support of a progressive agenda. He said, “You have a proud progressive tradition that goes back a long, long time.” He continued, “I’m excited to have somebody in the Oval Office bringing 40 years of passionate battling for families and kids. Donald Trump does have a passion, it’s just Donald J. Trump.” Kaine urged everyone to vote on November 8th because every vote is important in a close election. A video from the event will be posted when/if available.
Meanwhile, Kaine’s wife, Anne Holton, spoke at three early voting events in Iowa. She spoke at events in Carroll, Des Moines, and Boone. At each, she stressed the importance of the election and urged everyone to get out and vote. More details from the events will be posted when/if available.
On Tuesday, three fundraisers were held on behalf of Hillary for America. The first two were in New York and featured Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. She spoke at events in Syracuse and Rochester. Then, in Washington, DC, Heather Boushey held an event.
On Monday, Tim Kaine campaigned in North Carolina where he began the day at an event in Jacksonville. During his speech, Kaine outlined a number of Hillary Clinton’s key platform points including her plans to create jobs and continue the economic growth started by the administration of President Barack Obama. He said that the goal is to build an economy that works for everyone, and not just those at the top. Kaine also spoke about Donald Trump and attacked Trump for his disrespect for the military. As the father of a Marine, Kaine said, “We need someone who has known about (the military) in the past and know what we look for in the future, even know what the military stands for other than fighting.” Kaine wrapped up the event by asking everyone to vote and to take advantage of the state’s early voting adding, “You are not the kind of people to stand by. We’re going to go out on November 8 and make history and do something that’s never been done.” A video from the event is below.
In Sanford, Kaine continued to focus on the economy and Clinton’s plans to create jobs by investing in infrastructure, manufacturing, clean energy, education and training, and helping small businesses. Kaine urged everyone to not become complacent by current polls indicating that the gap that favored Clinton in the polls is closing, something he said they knew would happen. “I’m the underdog until they call me the winner,” he said asking everyone to vote on November 8th or to take advantage of early voting. A video from the Sanford event is below.
Meanwhile, Kaine’s wife, Anne Holton, was in Omaha, Nebraska where she held two events in appreciation of campaign volunteers. Full coverage from Holton’s events will be posted when/if available.
The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold published yet another explosive report revealing Trump’s lack of charitable giving, despite his history of making dramatic public promises of donations, and detailing Trump’s misuse of his foundation. Hillary Clinton highlighted the new report in her remarks today at Wilton Manors, saying it was “truly stunning.”
Washington Post: “For as long as he has been rich and famous, Donald Trump has also wanted people to believe he is generous … It was, in large part, a facade. A months-long investigation by The Washington Post has not been able to verify many of Trump’s boasts about his philanthropy.”
Slate: “The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold has spent months going through records and talking to people to try to figure out whether Donald Trump is really as charitable as he claims to be. At this point in the campaign, it should surprise no one that the answer is no... Although Trump, particularly through his foundation, did give some money to charity over the years, much of it was self-serving and the dollar amounts of his contributions were often much less than what he made it seem.”
Today in Wilton Manors, Hillary Clinton highlights Trump’s “charitable giving, or lack thereof.”
“But yesterday the Washington Post published a report that was truly stunning. It starts with the story of a ribbon-cutting back in 1996 for a nursery school serving children living with HIV and AIDS in New York. Now, let me say, this is important in part to remember. This is a story about children with HIV and AIDS. So there was a big celebration honoring the donors who had supported the nursery school, and all the kids and their families, for whom this was the most important thing you can imagine. Because you know, back in the ‘90s, some of you remember. Right? Children weren’t welcomed in school.
And then, unannounced and uninvited, guess who barges in? Donald Trump. He walks right up to the stage. He sat down in the seat that was being saved for a local developer who had made a generous donation. None of the people working for the charity knew why he was there. He wasn’t a donor at all. He had never given a single dollar to help build the school. He just wanted people to think he had. So he sat on the stage through the program, even posed for photographs, and when it was over, he got up and walked out. No explanation. No donation. Now really, who does that? What kind of person does that? Really? I mean, who pretends to help kids with HIV and AIDS in order to make themselves look good? Well, I’ll tell you: The same kind of person who would pull a bait and switch on a high school chess team.
Back in 1997, he was principal for a day at a public school. That was a program we used to have in New York. The chess team was holding a bake sale to raise money to travel to a tournament. They were $5,000 short. He walked up to them and handed them a fake million dollar bill. At first the kids and their parents were excited. Then they were devastated to learn it was a joke. So he gave them 200 bucks and drove away in his limousine. Now, this story does have a happy ending because a woman read the story about Donald Trump’s behavior, called the school, and donated the $5,000. And the coach remembers this woman saying, “I am ashamed to be the same species as this man.”
Just this morning, Kellyanne Conway was pressed on Trump’s false philanthropy and was unable to provide any evidence that Fahrenthold’s reporting was anything other than spot-on.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Tim Kaine mentioned a big story in the Washington Post that found Donald Trump’s personal giving has disappeared entirely in recent years after calling 420 plus charities with connection to trump. The post found one personal gift between 2008 and the spring of 2009. They call into question all of the promises he’s made about giving to charity. Will Trump release his tax returns and show what he’s given?
KELLYANNE CONWAY: Not until our accountants and lawyers say we should.
[…]
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Any contributions to charity over the last several years from the foundation? The Post couldn’t find any and you wouldn’t respond.
KELLYANNE CONWAY: I’m told by those in charge of the Clinton Foundation —
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Trump Foundation.
KELLYANNE CONWAY: Excuse me, yes, George. He’s been incredibly generous with his time and money over the years. He started that foundation with just his money and the only contributor for a number of years.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: But nothing over the last five years.
Hillary Clinton Speeches 