Hillary Clinton gave her former rival, Donald Trump, a taste of his own medicine as she grinned and nodded as the audience of the Democratic National Convention started a ‘lock him up’ chant.
During the 2016 election, Trump would lead his MAGA base in taunts of ‘lock her up’ about Clinton over the scandal involving her State Department emails.
On Monday, Clinton mentioned Trump’s own legal problems – as she pressed America to finally vote the first female president into office, robustly backing Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.
‘As a prosecutor, Kamala locked up murderers and drug traffickers. She will never rest in defense of our freedom and safety,’ Clinton said.
‘Donald Trump fell asleep at his own trial,’ she continued. ‘When he woke up, he’d made his own kind of history: the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions.’
From there, the audience took the cue and started mouthing: ‘lock him up!’
Clinton did nothing to stop it.
Hillary Clinton gave her former rival, Donald Trump, a taste of his own medicine as she grinned and nodded as the audience of the Democratic National Convention started a ‘lock him up’ chant
Hillary Clinton arrives onstage during Monday night’s session of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. She was sporting her trademark suffragette white and spoke of female barrier breakers
The country’s first female major party nominee dedicated most of her speech to talking about finally breaking the glass ceiling.
‘Something is happening in America,’ she said at the top of her speech. ‘You can feel it. Something we’ve worked for and dreamed of for a long time.’
She remarked how her mother was born ‘right here in Chicago’ and before women had the right to vote.
‘That changed 104 years ago yesterday,’ Clinton continued, sporting her trademark suffragette white. ‘Since that day, every generation has carried the torch forward.’
She recalled Shirley Chisholm’s 1972 run for the White House and Geraldine Ferraro’s 1984 run as VP.
‘And then there was 2016,’ Clinton said.
‘It was the honor of my life to accept our party’s nomination for president,’ she said. ‘Nearly 66 million Americans voted for a future where there are no ceilings on our dreams.’
Still, Clinton lost to Trump.
‘Afterward, we refused to give up on America. Millions marched. Many ran for office. We kept our eyes on the future,’ she said.
‘Well, my friends, the future is here,’ the former nominee proclaimed.
‘I wish my mother and Kamala’s mother could see us,’ she also offered.
She spoke of Harris’ ‘character, experience and vision,’ contrasting it with Trump’s behavior.
‘As commander in chief, Kamala won’t disrespect veterans – she’ll revere our Medal of Honors recipients,’ Clinton said, referring to remarks Trump made last week in Bedminster. ‘She sure won’t send love letters to dictators.’
The former Secretary of State slapped Trump for ‘lying about Kamala’s record.’
‘He’s mocking her name and her laugh,’ Clinton said. ‘Sounds familiar,’ she said, dryly, earning laughs.
‘We have him on the run right now,’ she continued. ‘But no matter what the polls say, we can’t let up. We can’t get driven down crazy conspiracy rabbit holes. We have to fight for the truth. We have to fight for Kamala as she fights for us.’
‘Because you know what? It still takes a village,’ the former first lady said. ‘To raise a family, heal a country, win a campaign.’
In a throwback to how she ended both her 2008 and 2016 campaign Clinton said: ‘Together, we’ve put a lot of cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling.’
‘Tonight, so close to breaking through once and for all, I want to tell you what I see through all those cracks – and why it matters for each and every one of us,’ she said. ‘What do I see? I see freedom.’
‘The freedom to make our own decisions about our health, our lives, our loves, our families,’ Clinton said.
‘I see freedom to look our children in the eye and say: In America, you can go as far as your hard work and talents will take you. And mean it,’ she said.
Harris would break barriers as both the first female president and the first female president of color.
‘On the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala Harris taking the oath of office as our 47th President of the United States,’ Clinton said to cheers.
‘When a barrier falls for one of us, it clears the way for all of us,’ she added.
Before she left the stage – to her 2016 theme tune, Fight Song, she explained why she viewed this moment as so important.
‘I want my grandchildren and their grandchildren to know I was here,’ the 76-year-old said. ‘That we were here. And that we were with Kamala every step of the way.’
