At a rally in Tampa, Florida on Friday, Hillary Clinton called on Americans to reject the dark and divisive vision Donald Trump laid out for America’s future in his convention speech. Pointing to Trump’s belief that America is in decline and only he can fix it, Clinton argued that Americans are problem-solvers who build bridges—not walls.
Highlighting her commitment to build an economy that works for everyone and an America that is stronger together, Clinton said, “I’ve met so many wonderful men and women who serve in our military; they know their job, they know the grave responsibility that they fulfill, and they get up every day and they do their best. But I’ve never heard one of them say, ‘Oh, I can fix it alone.’ […] I’ve never heard of an American leader, or at least someone who wants to be an American leader, claiming that he’s all we need. That’s not a democracy, my friends. As I recall, we had a revolution to make sure we didn’t have someone who said, ‘I can fix it alone.’”
Clinton’s remarks, as transcribed, are below:“Thank you, Tampa! Thank you all. Thank you so much. Whoa. Are we ready to go win an election in November? Well, I think after the last week, what we saw in Cleveland, we’d better be ready to go win an election in November.
I want to thank Delia for those wonderful words about her life growing up here in Tampa and her strong endorsement. I want to thank my longtime friend and my colleague from the Senate, your Senator Bill Nelson. I also want to thank your great mayor, Mayor Bob Buckhorn. I also have a few others to thank, because I’m thrilled to have so many strong Florida leaders here with us today – County Commissioner Les Miller; former Governor and soon-to-be congressman Charlie Crist; former Mayor Sandy Freedman; and we’ve got a great group of state representatives, councilmembers, and so many more, and I am grateful to each and every one of you who are here with us.
I’ve got to tell you, did any of you watch that convention in Cleveland? (Boos.) Well, it was kind of perversely flattering. It’s hard to believe they spent so much time talking about me and no time talking about jobs or education or health care. No matter what your political leanings, I think we can all agree that never in the history of conventions, certainly, but I think even more broadly, have we moved forward together by pointing fingers and scapegoating and blaming people instead of rolling up our sleeves, getting a plan together, and then working to achieve it.
Now, I mean, something has gone terribly wrong when one speaker says ‘vote your conscience’ and gets booed. I mean, I never thought I would say these words, but Ted Cruz was right. In this election, do the right thing and vote your conscience – vote for your future; vote for a United States of America.”
AUDIENCE: “Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!”
