Hillary Clinton formally accepts Democratic nomination for president and trains her fire on Donald Trump
During her speech to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, she said the country is at "a moment of reckoning," and laid out a case for why she is the responsible choice for president instead of Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Clinton cited President Franklin Roosevelt's most famous remark in a rebuke of Trump's platform, saying "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
She later took a shot at a Trump comment from his convention in Cleveland last week, telling the audience they shouldn't "believe anyone who says 'I alone can fix it.'"
The former secretary of state, in wrapping up her four-day convention, acknowledged the gravity of the moment. She said the country must "keep going until every one of the 161 million women and girls across America has the opportunity she deserves to have."
"But, even more important than the history we make tonight is the history we will write together in the years ahead," she continued.
Clinton praised the work of President Barack Obama, saying America is "stronger" because of his leadership. She also thanked Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, her main primary opponent, for having "inspired millions of Americans."
The Democratic nominee also spent a good portion of her speech comparing the founding of the nation to the choice in 2016 between herself and Trump.
She said:
"My friends, we've come to Philadelphia - the birthplace of our nation - because what happened in this city 240 years ago still has something to teach us todayWe all know the story. But we usually focus on how it turned out - and not enough on how close that story came to never being written at all. When representatives from 13 unruly colonies met just down the road from here, some wanted to stick with the King. Some wanted to stick it to the king, and go their own way. The revolution hung in the balance. Then somehow they began listening to each other, compromising, finding common purpose."
"And by the time they left Philadelphia, they had begun to see themselves as one nation. That's what made it possible to stand up to a King. That took courage. They had courage. Our Founders embraced the enduring truth that we are stronger together. America is once again at a moment of reckoning. Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart. Bonds of trust and respect are fraying."
"And just as with our founders, there are no guarantees. It truly is up to us. We have to decide whether we all will work together so we all can rise together. Our country's motto is e pluribus unum: out of many, we are one. Will we stay true to that motto? Well, we heard Donald Trump's answer last week at his convention. He wants to divide us - from the rest of the world, and from each other."
She said her primary goal as president will be to create jobs with rising wages.
"From my first day in office to my last," she said. "Especially in places that for too long have been left out and left behind. From our inner cities to our small towns, Indian Country to Coal Country. From the industrial Midwest to the Mississippi Delta to the Rio Grande Valley."
Clinton also made a point of mentioning how she'd appoint liberal Supreme Court justices and vowed the court would overturn the Citizens United decision related to campaign finance.
She also promised to work with Sanders to make college "tuition-free for the middle class."