Former secretary of state addresses supporters to formally concede election a day after Donald Trump pulled off stunning victory

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Hillary Clinton called on her supporters to accept the US election result on Wednesday, as she delivered a concession speech in New York in which she pressed Donald Trump to hold fast to American values.

“Donald Trump is going to be our president,” she said, speaking at the New Yorker hotel in Manhattan. “We owe him an open mind and a chance to lead.”

Hillary Clinton's concession speech – full transcript Read more

But she said that in addition to respecting the election result, “we must defend” the values of non-discrimination and the rule of law and equality before the law, and advance the values “we hold most dear”.

And she directly addressed female voters who had hoped to see her become the first woman to serve as president, saying: “To all the women, and especially the young women, who put their faith in this campaign and in me, I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion.

“I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling but I know someday someone will and hopefully sooner than we might think right now,” Clinton said.

“And to all the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable … and deserving of every chance … to pursue your own dreams.”

“This is painful and it will be for a long time,” she said, “but I want you to remember this, our campaign was never about one person or even one election. It was about the country we love.”

Clinton spoke just four blocks from the Jacob K Javits Center, where her supporters gathered the night before, hoping to see Americans elect their first female president.



“This loss hurts but please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it,” Clinton said.

The Democratic candidate said she had phoned her opponent on Tuesday night.

Supporters react at Clinton event – in pictures Read more

“Last night I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country,” she said. “I hope that he will be a president for all of our country. I’m sorry that we did not win this election for the values we all share.”

When the two candidates met face to face, in three presidential debates, Trump repeatedly interrupted Clinton while she pressured him to answer accusations of sexual assault, his proposed ban on Muslim immigration and disparaging comments towards Mexicans and immigrants.

In her concession speech, she alluded to Trump’s campaign rhetoric, outlining the constitutional protections of freedom and equal protection to “people of all races and religions, for men and women, for immigrants, for LGBT people and people with disabilities – for everyone”.

“We respect and cherish these values too and we must defend them,” she said.

Of her supporters, she said: “You represent the best of America, and being your candidate has been one of the greatest honors of my life. I know how disappointed you feel, because I feel it too.

“This is painful, and it will be for a long time. But I want you to remember this: our campaign was never about one person … it was about building a country that we love.”

The election campaign, she said, had revealed that “our country was more deeply divided than we ever thought”.

Clinton also fielded a call from Barack Obama on Wednesday morning, according to the White House. Obama “expressed admiration for the strong campaign she waged throughout the country”.

He spoke to the nation shortly after Clinton, saying he “could not be prouder” of Clinton’s work as first lady, senator, secretary of state and presidential candidate.

Speaking from the White House Obama acknowledged that some Americans woke up exalted on Wednesday, “and others, less so”. He encouraged Americans to move forward together, because “we are Americans first”.

Obama said he was encouraged because the conviction that the country is “all on one team” came through in his own conversation with Trump, which happened at 3.30am.

Obama said he had congratulated the president-elect – a man who, it went unsaid, brought the birther movement, a conspiracy theory about Obama’s birthplace, to the national stage. Differences with Trump would not affect the transition of power, Obama said.

“I’m absolutely confident that [Clinton] will continue to do great work for people here in the United States and around the world,” he added, in remarks which included repeated calls for civility and cooperation during the transition to a Trump presidency.

Trump spokesman Jason Miller called Clinton’s speech “very classy” and said it was an “important step in bringing our country together”.



Trump shattered expectations with an election victory that revealed deep anti-establishment anger among American voters and set the world on a journey into the political unknown.

After surprise early victories in Florida, North Carolina and Ohio, it fell to the rust belt states of the industrial midwest to determine the result of his stunning upset.

Wisconsin and Michigan, two states hit hard by a decline in manufacturing jobs and lost by Clinton to Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, were led by Trump as the race headed for an early morning cliffhanger.

Clinton called Trump to concede around 2.30am, Trump’s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, told New York magazine. Conway said Trump told Clinton: “You’re a smart, tough lady and you ran a great campaign. Thank you for calling. I respect you.”



Obama has invited the president-elect to the White House on Thursday.