Hillary Clinton celebrated her victory in the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday evening in a speech taking on Donald Trump.
“We don’t need to make America great again. America has never stopped being great,” Clinton said, giving a nod to Trump’s campaign slogan.
“But we do need to make America whole again. Instead of building walls, we need to be tearing down barriers,” she continued.
The former secretary of state called for “more love and kindness in our hearts and more respect for each other, even when we disagree.”
Clinton congratulated Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on running a great campaign and told supporters that “tomorrow, this campaign goes national,” probably a reference to next week’s multi-state Super Tuesday elections but perhaps also a nod to the growing likelihood that she will be facing Trump in the general election.
“We are going to compete for every vote in every state. We are not taking anything and we are not taking anyone for granted,” she said.
Clinton addressed racism, calling for investment in minority communities as well as criminal justice reform and immigration reform.
“Now, breaking down all the barriers means we also have to face the reality of systemic racism that more than a half a century after Rosa Parks sat and Dr. King marched and John Lewis bled, still plays a significant role in determining who gets ahead in America and who gets left behind,” she said.
She told supporters to imagine a country that works together.
“Imagine what we can all build together when each and every American has the chance to live up to his or her potential. Imagine a tomorrow where no child grows up in the shadow of discrimination or under the specter of deportation. Imagine a tomorrow where every parent can find a good job and every grandparent can enjoy a secure retirement,” she said. “When we trust and respect each other, despite all that divides us, so please join us in this campaign for our country’s future.”
Toward the end of her speech Clinton referenced a passage from 1 Corinthians, perhaps a subtle dug as Trump’s “two Corinthians” gaffe.
She said she met a South Carolinian who was reading the Bible in a Bakery.
“He was studying First Corinthians 13, which happens to be one of my favorite passages. Love never fails, it tells us. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. These are words to live by, not only for ourselves but also for our country.”
She concluded with a positive message for her campaign, again bringing up her wish for more “love and kindness.”
“I know it sometimes seems a little odd for someone running for President these days, in this time, to say we need more love and kindness in America. But I’m telling you from the bottom of my heart, we do. We do,” she said. “We have so much to look forward to. There is no doubt in my mind that America’s best years can be ahead of us. We have got to believe that. We’ve got to work for that. We have to stand with each other. We have to hold each other up. Lift each other up. Move together into the future that we will make.”
