Remarks on Securing the Democratic Nomination - June 7, 2016

Clinton gave this address at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Thank you all! Tonight caps an amazing journey. A really, really long journey.

It's wonderful to be back in Brooklyn, here in this beautiful building. It may be hard to see, but we're all standing under a glass ceiling right now—don't worry, we're not smashing this one.

Thanks to you, we've reached a milestone—the first time in our history that a woman will be a major party's nominee for President of the United States.

Tonight's victory is not about one person. It belongs to generations of women and men who struggled and sacrificed and made this moment possible.

Tonight belongs to all of you.

I want to thank all the volunteers, community leaders, activists, and organizers who supported our campaign in every state and territory. Thank you for talking to your neighbors and for making contributions to hillaryclinton.com. Your efforts have produced a strong majority of the popular vote, victories in a majority of the contests, and after tonight, a majority of pledged delegates.

I also want to thank all the people across this country who've taken the time to talk with me. I've learned a lot from you about the persistent problems and the unfinished promise of America. So many of you feel like you're out there on your own, and no one has your backs. Well, I do. I hear you, I see you, and if I'm fortunate enough to serve as your president, I'll always have your back.

I want to congratulate Senator Sanders for the extraordinary campaign he has run. He's spent his career fighting for progressive causes and principles, and he's excited millions of voters, especially young people. Let there be no mistake: Senator Sanders, his campaign, and the vigorous debate we've had about how to raise incomes, reduce inequality, and increase upward mobility have been very good for the Democratic Party and for America.

This has been a hard-fought, deeply-felt campaign. But whether you supported me, or Senator Sanders, or one of the Republicans, we all need to keep working toward a better, fairer, stronger America.

It never feels good to put your heart into a cause or a candidate you believe in—and to come up short.

I know that feeling well.

But, as we look ahead to the battle that awaits, let's remember all that unites us.

We all want an economy with more opportunity and less inequality, where Wall Street can never wreck Main Street again. We all want a government that listens to the people, not the power brokers, which means getting unaccountable money out of politics. And we all want a society that is tolerant, inclusive, and fair.

We all believe that America succeeds when more people share in our prosperity. When more people have a voice in our political system. When more people can contribute to our communities.

We believe that cooperation is better than conflict, unity is better than division, empowerment is better than resentment, and bridges are better than walls.

It's a simple but powerful idea. We believe we are stronger together.

The stakes in this election are high. And the choice is clear.

Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit to be president and Commander-in-Chief. And he's not just trying to build a wall between America and Mexico—he's trying to wall off Americans from each other.

When he says, "Let's make America great again," that's code for "let's take America backward."

Back to a time when opportunity and dignity were reserved for some, not all. Promising his supporters an economy he can't recreate.

We want to write the next chapter in American greatness, with a 21st-century prosperity that lifts everyone who's been left out and left behind, including those who may not vote for us but who deserve their chance to make a new beginning.

When Donald Trump says a distinguished judge born in Indiana can't do his job because of his Mexican heritage, or mocks a reporter with disabilities, or calls women "pigs," it goes against everything we stand for. We want an America where everyone is treated with respect and their work is valued.

Donald Trump doesn't believe we are stronger together. He has abused his primary opponents and their families, attacked the press for asking tough questions, and denigrated Muslims and immigrants. He wants to win by stoking fear and rubbing salt in wounds. And reminding us daily just how great he is.

We believe we should lift each other up, not tear each other down.

We need to give America a raise—not complain that hard-working people's wages are too high.

We need to help young people struggling with student debt—not pile more on to our national debt with giveaways to the super-wealthy.

We need to make America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century, not insist that climate change is a hoax.

To be great, we can't be small. We have to be as big as the values that define America.

And we are a big-hearted, fair-minded country. We teach our children that this is one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Not just for people who look a certain way or worship a certain way. For all. Indivisible.

This election isn't about the same old fights between Democrats and Republicans. This election is different. It's about who we are as a nation. It's about millions of Americans coming together to say: We are better than this. We won't let this happen in America.

If you agree—whether you're a Democrat, Republican or independent—I hope you'll join us.

In just a few weeks, we'll meet in Philadelphia, which gave birth to our nation in that hot summer of 1776. Those early patriots knew they'd all rise or fall together. Today, that's more true than ever.

Our campaign will take this message to every corner of the country.

We're stronger when our economy works for everyone, not just those at the top, with good-paying jobs and good schools in every zip code, and a real commitment to all families and all regions of our country.

We're stronger when we work with our allies around the world to keep us safe.

We're stronger when we respect each other, listen to each other, and act with a sense of common purpose.

We're stronger when every family in every community knows they're not on their own, because we're all in this together. It really does "take a village"—to raise a child and to build a stronger future for us all.

I learned this a long time ago, from the biggest influence in my life: my mother.

She was my rock, from the day I was born till the day she left us. She overcame a childhood marked by abandonment and mistreatment, and somehow managed not to become bitter or broken. Mom believed that life is about serving others. And she taught me never to back down from a bully, which it turns out was pretty good advice.

This past Saturday would have been her 97th birthday. She was born on June 4, 1919. Some of you may know that date. On the very day Mom was being born in Chicago, Congress was passing the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote.

I wish Mom could be here tonight. I wish she could see what a wonderful mother Chelsea has become. I wish she could meet our beautiful granddaughter Charlotte.

And I wish she could see her daughter become the Democratic Party's nominee for president of the United States.

Yes, there are still ceilings to break—for women and men, for all Americans. But don't let anyone tell you that great things can't happen in America. Barriers can come down. Justice and equality can win. Our history has moved in that direction—slowly at times, but unmistakably—thanks to generations of Americans who refused to give up or back down.

You are writing a new chapter of that story. This campaign is about making sure there are no ceiling—no limits—on any of us.

And this is our moment to come together.

Go to hillaryclinton.com and contribute what you can. Text JOIN to 47246 and help us organize in all 50 states. Every phone call you make and every door you knock will help move us forward.

I'm going to take a moment later tonight to sit and fully absorb the history we've made here. But what I care about most is the history our country has yet to write. Our children and grandchildren will look back at this time, at the choices we're about to make, the goals we will strive for, the principles we will live by. We need to make sure they can be proud of us.

The end of the primaries is only the beginning of the work we're called to do.

If we stand together, we'll grow together, and rise together.

Because we're stronger together.

Thank you all. May God bless you and may God bless America.