Hillary Clinton Claims Historic Victory; Now the Presumptive Democratic Nominee

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton is celebrating a historic victory after reaching the required delegates to seal the nomination of the Democratic Party on Tuesday.

The former First Lady, former Senator, and former Secretary of State won the primaries in California, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota last night. Based on CNN’s delegate count, Clinton currently has total of 2,740 delegates including 2,168 pledged and 572 super delegates; above the 2,383 delegates needed to become the party’s nominee.

Clinton is now the Democratic presumptive nominee. Her victory is historic as she becomes the first female presidential nominee from a major political party in the United States.

In a speech last night, Clinton said, “Thanks to you, we’ve reached a milestone. 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.”

She also praised Senator Bernie Sanders for his long public service and for having an energetic primary campaign that was “very good for the Democratic Party and for America.”

Clinton also remembered her mother Dorothy Rodham and wished she is still alive to witness her achievements. She said, “I wish she could see what a wonderful mother Chelsea has become and could meet our beautiful granddaughter, Charlotte. And, of course, I wish she could see her daughter become the Democratic Party’s nominee.”

In a separate interview with ABC’s David Muir, the Democratic presumptive nominee said, “She would be really excited and proud. She would be, like I am, overwhelmed by this historic moment. She taught me so much in my life, including how to stand up to bullies, which apparently is going to be very much in demand in the upcoming campaign.”

Clinton attacks Trump

On Tuesday night, Clinton intensified her attack on Trump. She emphasized that the Republican presumptive nominee’s values and rhetoric are contrary to the American principles. She reiterated that Trump is “temperamentally unfit” to lead the United States.

Clinton said, “He is not just trying to build a wall between America and Mexico. He is trying to wall of Americans from each other. When he says let’s make America great again, that is code for let’s take American backwards. He wants to win by stoking fear and rubbing salt in wounds and reminding us daily just how great he is.”

In her previous speech, Clinton said Trump’s ideas are “dangerously incoherent” and a “series of personal rants, personal feuds, and outright lies.” She also emphasized that Trump lacks real plan, experience, and leadership to be president.

U.S. is willing to move forward with a female president

Jennifer Lawless, director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University and co-author of “Women on the Run,” told CNN, “This is the most historic moment for women in politics that we’ve seen in contemporary times.

Symbolically it’s a big deal, and substantively, it means that the country is willing to move forward with a female president.”