CHICAGO — Hillary Clinton took the stage Monday in a suffragette white dress to pass the torch to a woman she hopes will do what she couldn’t: become the first female president of the United States.
“The future is here!” Clinton said to sustained applause at the Democratic National Convention. “I wish my mother and Kamala’s mother could see it.”
Eight years after her crushing defeat in the 2016 presidential election, the former senator and secretary of state, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, has woven herself into the long story of the women’s rights movement, from the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote, to this November’s elections.
“The story of my life and the history of our country is that progress is possible. But it is not guaranteed,” said Clinton, who was the first woman nominated to lead a major party’s presidential ticket. “We have to fight for it. And never, ever give up.”
In the audience at the United Center, several women could be seen wiping their eyes — including Gwen Walz, the wife of Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz — and nodding knowingly as Clinton joked about Donald Trump making fun of her and Harris’ laughter.
When she mentioned Trump and his felony conviction, the crowd responded with chants of “Lock him up!” — an ironic reprise of the chants Trump supporters used against Clinton eight years ago. She smiled and nodded before continuing.
After dominating the Democratic Party for decades alongside her husband Bill Clinton, Clinton has largely disappeared from the public eye since being elected president in 1992 in 2016.
Some Democrats accused her and her campaign team of being overconfident in the run-up to Election Day that year, when they were confident they would easily defeat Trump.
She had rented out New York City’s Javits Center for her victory party, choosing it in part for the metaphorical value of its glass ceiling. But the ceiling held that night, and the confetti cannons never went off as shell-shocked Democrats stumbled into the Manhattan night and a new day for the country with Trump en route to the White House.
Meanwhile, frustration with Clinton has cooled somewhat and she was welcomed as a hero by her fellow party members at the first physical party meeting since she accepted her nomination eight years ago.
“Together we have made many cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling. And tonight, tonight, [we are] “We are so close to a definitive breakthrough,” Clinton said.
Tammy Murphy, the first lady of New Jersey and a major fundraiser for Clinton, said Clinton’s campaigns made Harris’ presidential election possible.
“She broke the glass ceiling, and that’s all we needed,” said Murphy, who has pursued her own political career. “I think there’s no question that without Hillary Clinton’s work and her incredible demeanor and the way she’s been so tenacious in this fight, we wouldn’t be here tonight.”
Her husband, Governor Phil Murphy, agreed: “Without Hillary, we wouldn’t have Kamala.”
Yet her speech Monday night, second only to President Joe Biden and just ahead of Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., also showed that this is not Clinton’s moment.
She seemed at peace with that, knowing that she had paved the way for Harris, who would be not only the first woman, but also the first Black woman and the first Asian American woman to become president if elected.
“When a barrier falls for one of us,” Clinton said, “it clears the way for all of us.”
And as she walked off stage left, “Fight Song” played, the heartfelt ode to personal empowerment that helped define Clinton’s 2016 campaign.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
