前国务卿希拉里·克林顿周一表示，未来“掌握在我们手中”，她在民主党全国代表大会的第一晚发表了一场充满活力的演讲。
“这是我们的时刻，美国，”克林顿说。“这是我们站起来的时刻。这是我们突破的时刻。未来就在这里，它就在我们手中，让我们去赢得它。”
克林顿的演讲是在民主党团结在副总统卡马拉·哈里斯身后，她取代拜登成为党内的领跑者之后发表的。
克林顿在长时间的欢呼声中上台，她说：“在美国，有些事情正在发生——你可以感觉到它，”她称之为“我们长期努力和梦想的事情。”
在接受政党提名八年后，克林顿说，我们正在为哈里斯的提名“撰写美国故事的新篇章”——哈里斯是首位被提名为主要政党总统候选人的有色女性。
克林顿在讲话中带着观众回顾了女性在政治中打破天花板的简短历史——从获得投票权到她在2016年的提名，她称之为“我一生中的荣誉”。
“近6600万美国人投票支持一个没有梦想天花板的未来，”克林顿说。“之后，我们拒绝放弃美国……我们一直关注未来。”
“好吧，我的朋友们，未来就在这里，”她补充说，敦促美国人将哈里斯送入白宫。
和其他许多民主党人一样，克林顿在周一描绘了哈里斯领导下的国家未来与特朗普第二任政府下的国家的鲜明对比。她告诉选民，他们面临着一个选择，要么团结为“我们人民”，要么分裂为“我们与他们”。她说，“卡马拉拥有带领我们前进的性格、经验和愿景。”
克林顿在2016年的总统选举中输给了前总统唐纳德·特朗普，并多年来一直是特朗普愤怒的目标，她说，“毫不奇怪”，前总统“在撒谎关于卡马拉的记录，他在嘲笑她的名字和她的笑声。”
“听起来很熟悉，”她耸耸肩打趣道。“但现在我们让他跑了。所以，无论民调如何，我们都不应该放松。”
这位前国务卿表示，哈里斯的胜利将具有远远超出个人的意义，她说，这将通过“让美国的承诺足够宽广，让每个人都能实现”来提升国家。
“我们一起在最高、最坚硬的玻璃天花板上敲了很多裂缝，”克林顿说。“而今晚，今晚，我们如此接近于一次性突破，我想告诉你们，我透过所有这些裂缝看到了什么，为什么这对我们每一个人都很重要。”
“我看到了自由，”她说。“在那层玻璃天花板的那边，卡马拉·哈里斯正在举起她的手，宣誓就任美国第47任总统。”
大会是在拜登先生退出竞选并迅速支持哈里斯成为党内领跑者不到一个月后举行的。克林顿和她的丈夫、前总统比尔·克林顿也迅速支持了哈里斯的总统竞选。
克林顿在周一也庆祝了拜登先生，她说他“给白宫带来了尊严、体面和信心”。
“他展示了作为一名真正爱国者的意义，”克林顿说。“谢谢你。乔·拜登，感谢你一生的服务和领导。”
Washington — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who herself came close to becoming the first woman president eight years ago, said Monday that the future is "in our grasp," delivering an energetic speech at the first night of the Democratic National Convention.
"This is our time, America," Clinton said. "This is when we stand up. This is when we break through. The future is here, it's in our grasp, let's go win it."
Clinton's speech came as Democrats showed a united front behind Vice President Kamala Harris after she replaced President Biden at the top of the ticket.
Clinton, who took the stage to a lengthy and warm reception of cheers from the crowd, said, "Something is happening in America — you can feel it," calling it "something we've worked for and dreamed of for a long time."
Eight years after she accepted the party's nomination for president at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, Clinton said "we are writing a new chapter in America's story" with the nomination of Harris — who is the first woman of color to be nominated as a major party's presidential candidate.
Hillary Clinton, former U.S. secretary of state, during the Democratic National Convention on Aug, 19, 2024.
In her remarks, Clinton took the audience through a short history of women shattering glass ceilings in politics — from gaining the ability to vote to her nomination in 2016, which she said called the "honor of my life."
"Nearly 66 million Americans voted for a future where there are no ceilings on our dreams," Clinton said. "And afterwards, we refused to give up on America … we kept our eyes on the future."
"Well, my friends, the future is here," she added, urging Americans to send Harris to the White House.
Like many other Democrats before her on Monday, Clinton painted a stark picture of the future of the nation under Harris versus a second Trump administration. She told voters they face a choice between uniting as "we the people" or fracturing into "us versus them." And she said, "Kamala has the character, experience, and vision to lead us forward."
Clinton, who lost her presidential bid to former President Donald Trump in 2016 and has been the target of Trump's ire for years, said it "is no surprise" that the former president "is lying about Kamala's record, he is mocking her name and her laugh."
"Sounds familiar," she quipped with a shrug. "But, we have him on the run now. So, no matter what the polls say, we can't let up."
The former secretary of state said Harris' victory would have meaning far beyond just one individual, saying it would uplift the nation by "opening the promise of America wide enough for everyone."
"Together we put a lot of cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling," Clinton said. "And tonight, 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."
"I see freedom," she said. "On the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala Harris raising her hand and taking the oath of office as the 47th president of the United States."
The convention comes less than a month after Mr. Biden dropped out of the race and promptly endorsed Harris as his replacement at the top of the ticket. Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, quickly endorsed Harris' bid for the presidency.
Clinton celebrated Mr. Biden as well on Monday, saying he "brought dignity, decency and confidence back to the White House."
"He showed what it means to be a true patriot," Clinton said. "Thank you. Joe Biden, for your lifetime of service and leadership."
