Former President Bill Clinton delivered his highly anticipated endorsement of his wife as he called her “the best darn change-maker” at the Democratic National Convention currently on-going in Philadelphia. This follows the official nomination of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate on Tuesday night – the first female leader in the party’s history.
“Hilary opened my eyes to a whole new world of public service by private citizens” says Bill Clinton as he glosses over Hillary’s career in public service both inside and outside of an official title. He details her work year-by-year highlighting some of her notable achievements through her various roles from the First lady of Arkansas to the First Lady of the United States and to her most recent role as Secretary of State under the Obama administration.
He also throws into the narrative his own story of how he met Hillary as a student in college. “In the spring of 1971 I met a girl. The first time I saw her, we were appropriately enough in a class on political and civil rights. She had big blond hair. Big glasses. She wore no makeup. And this sense of strength.” He tells the crowd of how he had to propose three times before she finally agreed to marry him.
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Clinton addresses the packed Wells Fargo Arena as he paints Hillary as a loving mother, a compassionate human and an unyielding statesman. “This woman has never been satisfied with the status quo … She always wants to move the ball forward. That is just who she is.” He says of his wife at a time when her unfavorability ratings are at an all-time high.
In a plea to the audience he says, “You just have to decide — you just have to decide which is which, my fellow Americans. The real one had done more positive change making before she was 30 than many public officials do in a lifetime in office.”
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In his deeply personal speech, Clinton was frequently interrupted by thunderous applause and standing ovations. He even took a swipe at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump without mentioning him by name saying, “Nobody who has dealt with the men and the women in the military believes they are a disaster. They are a national treasure.” A mention to Trump’s earlier campaign trail speeches wherein he talks of corruption and the disorderly state of American troops.
Donald Trump was quick to tweet:
No matter what Bill Clinton says and no matter how well he says it, the phony media will exclaim it to be incredible. Highly overrated!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2016