"I want to be president for everybody," Hillary Clinton said Wednesday. | AP Photo Hillary Clinton vows to 'reach out' to Republican leaders

ABOARD HILLARY CLINTON’S CAMPAIGN PLANE — Hillary Clinton on Wednesday pledged to reach out to Republican congressional leaders if she is elected, though she pointedly did not mention House Speaker Paul Ryan or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s names when asked specifically about them.

“I certainly intend to reach out to Republicans and Independents, the elected leadership of the Congress, which you mentioned,” she told reporters on her campaign plane as it returned to New York after a two-day campaign stretch in Florida. “I’m going to be doing everything I can to reach out to people who didn’t vote for me because I want to be president for everybody and I think that’s going to require a lot of effort on my part to demonstrate my commitment to that. And I intend to do as much of it as I possibly can before the inauguration and afterwards."


Flying from Tampa, Clinton ventured to the back of her plane carrying slices of the chocolate cake her staff had given her earlier in the day to celebrate her birthday.

After handing it out, she said that she refused to get complacent despite her persistent lead in national and most swing-state polls.

“I feel very blessed and energized. We’re working hard. We built this campaign over a year and a half ago to last the distance and now we’re seeing the results of that hard work. We’re not taking anything for granted. There’s not an ounce of complacency, we want everybody to keep helping us making phone calls, knocking on doors, reaching out to everyone,” she said, again nodding to the importance of early voting as she has in recent campaign stops in states like Florida and Iowa where it’s begun.

And, lest the evening end without a shot at Donald Trump, Clinton fit in a dig about the real estate developer’s Washington D.C. hotel opening earlier in the day.

“I am really determined that nobody is going to rest or stop or in any way think this election’s over before it’s actually over,” she said. "And I was struck today that Donald Trump is actually paying more attention to his business than to the campaign. That’s his choice, but we're going to keep working really hard to reach as many voters as possible."

She didn't say whether she would meet with Trump, though he was also mentioned in the question.