Hillary Clinton gave her concession speech on Wednesday in New York, apologizing to her supporters for failing to win the White House.
“This is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for,” a visibly emotional Clinton said to the crowd of her campaign staff and supporters. “And I am sorry we did not win this election.”
“I know how disappointed you feel because I feel it too and so do tens of millions of Americans who invested their hopes and dreams in this effort,” she continued.
Clinton then called for national unity after the divisive election, and said that we as Americans owe Donald Trump “an open mind and a chance to lead.”
“We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought but I still believe in America and I always will,” she said. “We must accept this result and look to the future.”
Clinton closed by saying how grateful she is to be an American and for all that the country has given to her. “And I still believe as deeply as I ever have that if we stand together and work together…our best days are still ahead of us,” she said.
Clinton decided not to speak publicly on Election Night as it appeared GOP nominee Donald Trump was going to pull a historical upset, while her campaign wasn’t.
Her campaign manager, John Podesta, took the stage at what was supposed to be her victory party and sent everyone home, saying they would have more to say about it on Wednesday. Shortly after that announcement, Pennsylvania was called in the Republican’s favor and Clinton phoned Trump to concede and congratulate him on the victory.
The Republican outsider defeated the consummate Democratic insider by crossing the threshold of 270 electoral votes by winning major battleground states such as Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin.