The 2016 election is over and Donald Trump is president, so why is Hillary Clinton still making public appearances and talking to crowds?

Or, as Ruth Mandel, director of Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics, put it to Clinton Thursday at Rutgers in Piscataway, why still talk when "people say get off the stage and shut up"?

The former secretary of state's response was direct:

"They never said that to any man who was not elected."

Clinton, who lost her White House against Trump, then rattled off a list of recent presidential hopefuls whose campaigns also failed to get them to the White House and didn't disappear afterward: Al Gore, John Kerry, John McCain and Mitt Romney.

"He's running for Senate!" Clinton exclaimed after naming Romney, a former Republican presidential nominee.

More than 5,000 people packed the floor and stands of Rutgers Athletic Center for Clinton's hour-long question-and-answer with Mandel. The talk focused on politics and women in politics.

And the "get off the stage and shut up" question Mandel posed was something the Democrat, the first major party female nominee for president, said she often heard since her election loss.

"That began to happen after the election and the election was pretty traumatic," Clinton said to laughs.

"I think there were a lot of people who were like, 'Oh my gosh, I don't want to have to think about it. I don't want to hear about it.' Totally. That's how I felt. I took a lot of long walks in the woods," she continued to more laughs.

"I drank my share of Chardonnay," she said, to cheers and even more laughs.

But then she got serious and described the double standard against her.

"I was really struck how people said that to me," Clinton said.

And then she assured the adoring crowd she will remain in the public realm.

"I am really committed to speaking out and doing what I can to have a voice in the debate," Clinton said.

She added: "You won't be surprised to hear me say that I have some concerns."

Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics hosted the sold-out event.

Clinton also talked about what it's like to be a woman in elected office (women need to get involved "despite how difficult" it is to be criticized for things male counterparts don't take heat for, she said), Russian meddling in the elections ("We're not anywhere near the bottom of understanding this.") and the future of politics in the country (I'm fundamentally optimistic and hopeful).

Rutgers will pay Clinton $25,000 from an endowment but use no money from tuition or state aid, according to the university.

A Clinton spokesperson told NBC the former secretary of state plans to donate the honorarium for the speech to charity.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or Facebook.