Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received an immediate standing ovation when she took the stage on the first night of the Democratic convention at the United Center. Clinton spent several moments waving to the crowd as cheers of “Hillary” echoed through the arena.
“Wow, there’s a lot of energy in this room just like there is across the country. Something, something is happening in America. You can feel it,” Clinton said to cheers.
Clinton had a jab at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that had the crowd chanting “Lock him up.” It was a sly reference to the “Lock her up” refrain repeated at Trump rallies about Clinton in 2016 when she was the Democratic presidential nominee.
Clinton smiled at the irony her comments had provoked.
“Donald Trump fell asleep at his own trial,” she said. “When he woke up, he had made his own kind of history: the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions.”
She also praised Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, for breaking possibly the “tallest, hardest glass ceiling” to become America’s first female president.
The former senator from New York said it was the “honor of my life” to be the party’s 2016 nominee.
“Together we have put many cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling,” Clinton said. “On the other side of the glass ceiling, Kamala Harris raises her hand and is sworn in as our 47th President of the United States. My friends, when a barrier falls for one of us, it clears the way for all of us.”
Focusing on the nature of Harris’ historic candidacy could be key to getting more women in key states Democrats need if they hope to win in November.
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