PHILADELPHIA, JULY 29: Hillary Clinton today portrayed her Republican rival Donald Trump as a volatile and short-tempered man who cannot be trusted with nuclear weapons as she scripted history by becoming the first woman presidential nominee of a major political party in the US.
Presenting her vision of inclusive growth for America that maintains its global leadership and military power, Clinton, 68, warned voters that the nation is facing a serious “moment of reckoning” from economic pain, violence and terror.
“America is once again at a moment of reckoning. Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart. Bonds of trust and respect are fraying. And just as with our founders there are no guarantees. It’s truly up to us. We have to decide whether we’re going to work together so we can all rise together,” Clinton told fellow Americans while accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination to run for president in the November general elections.
Clinton said she would build an economy that gives jobs to everyone and not a few and a country where “love trumps hate”. That is the country she is fighting for, she said.
“It is with humility, determination and boundless confidence in America s promise that I accept your nomination for president,” Clinton said as thousands of party delegates, leaders and supporters at the Wells Fargo Center erupted in cheers and applause.
The former first lady, senator and secretary of state set her sights on the White House and blasted Trump, portraying him as a small man, who got rich by stiffing workers, peddles fear and lacks the temperament to be commander-in-chief.
“He loses his cool at the slightest provocation. When he’s gotten a tough question from a reporter. When he’s challenged in a debate.
When he sees a protester at a rally.
Imagine him in the Oval Office facing a real crisis. A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons,” she charged.
“Ask yourself: Does Donald Trump have the temperament to be Commander-in-Chief?” she asked.”
“Donald Trump says, and this is a quote, ‘I know more about ISIS than the generals do. No, Donald, you don’t,” Clinton said.
Clinton alleged that Trump wants to divide Americans.
“We heard Donald Trump’s answer last week at his convention. He wants to divide us…He wants us to fear the future and fear each other,” she said.
“I will be a president for Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. For the struggling, the striving and the successful…for all Americans,” Clinton said.
“A president should respect the men and women who risk their lives to serve our country,” she said, adding that Trump can’t even handle the rough-and-tumble of a presidential campaign.
Clinton said if Americans are serious about keeping the country safe, they can’t afford to have a president who’s in the pocket of the gun lobby.
She was making a reference to Trump s opposition to gun control laws.
“I’m not here to take away your guns. I just don’t want you to be shot by someone who shouldn’t have a gun in the first place,” she said.
“For the past year, many people made the mistake of laughing off Donald Trump’s comments excusing him as an entertainer just putting on a show. They think he couldn’t possibly mean all the horrible things he says.
“Or said that an American judge couldn’t be fair because of his Mexican heritage. Or when he mocks and mimics a reporter with a disability,” she said.
Clinton said Trump has taken the Republican party a long way from morning in America to mid-night in America.
“And in the end, it comes down to what Donald Trump doesn’t get: that America is great because America is good.
So enough with the bigotry and bombast. Donald Trump’s not offering real change,” she said.
“He wants to divide us from the rest of the world and from each other. He’s betting that the perils of today’s world will blind us to its unlimited promise,” she said.
Clinton said Trump is offering empty promises.
“What are we offering? A bold agenda to improve the lives of people across our country – to keep you safe, to get you good jobs, and to give your kids the opportunities they deserve,” she said.
The choice is clear, Clinton said.
“I want to tell you tonight how we’re going to empower all Americans to live better lives. My primary mission as President will be to create more opportunity and more good jobs with rising wages right here in the United States,” Clinton said.
“We will not ban a religion. We will work with all Americans and our allies to fight and defeat terrorism,” she said.
“We are clear-eyed about what our country is up against.
But we are not afraid. We will rise to the challenge, just as we always have,” she said.
Clinton also promised a comprehensive immigration reform arguing that this will grow the economy and keep families together.
“We will not build a wall instead, we will build an economy where everyone who wants a good job can get one…
And we’ll build a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants who are already contributing to our economy,” she said.
“When we have millions of hardworking immigrants contributing to our economy, it would be self-defeating and inhumane to kick them out,” she stressed, adding that keeping the nation safe and honouring the people who do that work will be her highest priority.
