Hillary Clinton acknowledged Wednesday that her words may have helped fuel the bitter partisan divide in America but dismissed Donald Trump’s candidacy as one of the most polarizing “in our lifetimes.”
“Now I realize that our politics have contributed to the sense of division that many Americans feel right now,” Clinton said, speaking from the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. “And as someone in the middle of a hotly fought political campaign, I cannot stand here and claim that my words and actions haven't sometimes fueled the partisanship that often stands in the way of progress. So I recognize I have to do better, too.”
But turmoil calls for a president who can unite the country, said Clinton, who received the long-awaited endorsement of her primary rival Bernie Sanders at a joint campaign rally in New Hampshire on Tuesday. As Trump continues to try to broaden his appeal to mainstream Republicans by toning down his rhetoric, cutting back interviews and relying on a teleprompter, Clinton has been consolidating the Democratic Party and its progressive wing.
“In times like these, we need a president who can help pull us together, not split us apart. And that is why I believe Donald Trump is so dangerous,” Clinton said. “His campaign is as divisive as any we have seen in our lifetimes. It is built on stoking mistrust and pitting American against American. It’s there in everything he says and everything he promises to do as president.”
Clinton pointed the billionaire’s policies, highlighting his proposals to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the country and to deport millions of undocumented immigrants in the country illegally, as examples. She also blasted Trump for suggesting in an interview Tuesday that he can empathize with the plight of African-Americans — a statement that came after a week in which two black men were killed by police officers, capturing the nation’s attention and sparking protests across the country.
“Even this, the killing of people is somehow all about him,” she said.
Trump has never shied from verbally attacking his enemies or even groups of people, including members of his own party, women and minorities. And Clinton implored Americans to envision such a person in the White House.
“Imagine if he had not just Twitter and cable news to go after his critics and opponents but also the IRS, or for that matter our entire military. Given what we have seen and heard, do any of us think he’d be restrained,” Clinton asked.
Trump has also “shown contempt for and ignorance of our Constitution,” Clinton said, alluding to the real estate mogul’s visit with congressional Republicans last week.
“One member asked whether he’d protect Article 1, which defines a separation of powers between Congress and the executive branch,” Clinton said. “Here’s the answer he reportedly gave: ‘I wanna protect Article 1, Article 2, Article 12.’ Well here’s the thing: There is no Article 12. Not even close.”
“Even the most stalwart Republicans were alarmed by that. And, well, they and we should be,” she continued. “The very first thing a new president does is take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. To do that with any meaning, you’ve got to know what’s in it, and you have to respect what’s in it.”
In her remarks, Clinton repeatedly invoked Abraham Lincoln amid her call for unity, as she spoke inside the same building the former president delivered his “House Divided” remarks upon accepting the state GOP’s nomination for U.S. senator. But she also presented Trump’s White House bid as a takeover of the so-called party of Lincoln and a danger to America’s democracy.
“I do wish Donald Trump would listen to other people once in a while. He might actually learn something,” Clinton said. “But he’s made it clear: that’s not his thing. As he has said he only listens to himself. This man is the nominee of the party of Lincoln. We are watching it become a party of Trump, and that’s not just a huge loss for our democracy, it is a threat to it.”
Trump’s campaign, she said, “adds up to an ugly, dangerous message to America: a message that you should be afraid — afraid of people whose ethnicity is different or religious faith is different or who were born in a different country or hold different political beliefs. Make no mistake, there are things to fear in this world, and we need to be clear-eyed about them. But we are each other’s countrymen and women. We share this miraculous country.”
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said the words Lincoln spoke in his call for unity during a time when slavery still existed still resonate today. But she argued that the issues America faces today pale in comparison.
“The challenges we face today do not approach those of Lincoln’s time — not even close. And we should be very clear about that,” Clinton said. “But recent events have left people across America asking hard questions about whether we are still a house divided. Despite our best efforts and highest hopes, America’s long struggle with race is far from finished.”
Indeed, tensions across the country are especially heightened following a three-day stretch of violence that captured the nation’s attention last week. Last Tuesday police killed a black man outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The following day, there was another fatal police shooting of a black man in Falcon Heights, Minnesota.
And last Thursday Dallas police officers were ambushed by a lone gunman. Officials said the shooter, Micah Xavier Johnson, who killed five officers and wounded nine others, “wanted to kill white people, especially white officers.”
“There is too much violence and hate in our country. Too little trust and common ground,” Clinton said. “It can feel impossible to have the conversations we need to have to fix what’s broken. And despite being the richest country on Earth, we have too much economic inequality, and that also undermines the foundation of our democracy. Lincoln understood that threat, too. He deeply believed everyone deserved, in his words, a fair chance in the race of life.”
Clinton maintained that the country must fight against inequality while also creating opportunities for everyone to avoid a repeat of what transpired last week. As a presidential candidate, Clinton said, she “is deeply concerned about the divisions that still hold our people apart and our nation back.”
“I believe that our future peace and prosperity depends on whether we meet this moment with honesty and courage,” she added. “That means taking a hard look at our laws and our attitudes. It means embracing policies that promote justice for all people, and standing firm against any attempt to roll back the clock on the rights and opportunities that so many sacrificed so much to secure. And all of that starts with doing a better job of listening to each other.”
That includes the voices of families of gun violence victims, the African-American community and people who believe that "black lives matter," Clinton said. She rattled off the names of black people who have been killed by police in recent years, including Laquan McDonald and Sandra Bland, as she condemned a system that doesn’t hold law enforcement officers accountable.
“Too many black Americans, especially young men, feel like their lives are disposable, and they worry every single day about what might happen,” Clinton said. “They have every reason to feel that way, and it’s absolutely unacceptable. Everyone in America — everyone — deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.”
Clinton also called for reforms in criminal justice, policing and guns.
“Now I understand that just saying these things together may upset some people,” Clinton said. “I'm talking about police reform just a few days after a horrific attack on police officers. I'm talking about courageous, honorable police officers just a few days after officer-involved shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota. I'm bringing up guns in a country where just talking about comprehensive background checks and getting assault weapons off the streets gets you demonized.”
“But all these things can be true at the same time,” Clinton suggested. “We do need criminal justice reform to save lives and make sure all Americans are treated as equals in rights and dignity. We do need to support our police departments that are trying to get it right and honor the men and women who protect us every day. We do need to do more to stop gun violence. We may disagree about how to do these things, but surely we can all agree with those basic premises, and I hope and pray the past week has showed us how true they are.”
