1. Quotes
  2. Authors
  3. Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton Quotes
page 6

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is an American politician and diplomat who served as the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001, U.S. Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, 67th United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013, and as the Democratic Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election.

Born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, Clinton graduated from Wellesley College in 1969 and earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1973. After serving as a congressional legal counsel, she moved to Arkansas and married Bill Clinton in 1975. In 1977, she co-founded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. She was appointed the first female chair of the Legal Services Corporation in 1978 and became the first female partner at Rose Law Firm the following year. As First Lady of Arkansas, she led a task force whose recommendations helped reform Arkansas's public schools.

As First Lady of the United States, Clinton was an advocate for gender equality and healthcare reform. Her marital relationship came under public scrutiny during the Lewinsky scandal, which led her to issue a statement that reaffirmed her commitment to the marriage. In 2000, Clinton was elected as the first female Senator from New York. She was reelected to the Senate in 2006. Running for president in 2008, she won far more delegates than any previous female candidate but lost the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama. During her tenure as U.S. Secretary of State in the Obama Administration from 2009 to 2013, Clinton responded to the Arab Spring by advocating military intervention in Libya. She helped to organize a diplomatic isolation and international sanctions regime against Iran in an effort to force curtailment of that country's nuclear program; this would eventually lead to the multinational Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement in 2015. Upon leaving her Cabinet position after Obama's first term, she wrote her fifth book and undertook speaking engagements.

Clinton made a second presidential run in 2016. She received the most votes and primary delegates in the 2016 Democratic primaries and formally accepted her party's nomination for President of the United States on July 28, 2016 with vice presidential running mate Senator Tim Kaine. She became the first female candidate to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party. She lost the presidential election to Republican opponent Donald Trump in the Electoral College, despite winning a plurality of the popular vote. She received more than 65 million votes, the 3rd-highest count in a U.S. presidential election, behind Obama's victories in 2008 and 2012. Following her loss, she wrote her third memoir, What Happened, and launched Onward Together, a political action organization dedicated to fundraising for progressive political groups.

✵ 26. October 1947
Hillary Clinton photo
Hillary Clinton: 312   quotes 8   likes

Hillary Clinton Quotes

“As I look at American history, I see that this has always been a country of “we” not “me.” We stand together because we are stronger together.. One — out of many, one — has seen us through the darkest chapters of our history. Ever since 13 squabbling colonies put aside their disagreements and united because they realized they were going to rise together or fall separately, generation after generation has fought and marched and organized to widen the circle of dignity and opportunity. Ending slavery. Securing and expanding the right to vote. Throwing open the doors of education. Building the greatest middle class the world has ever seen. And we are stronger when more people can participate in our democracy.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), Speech about the Orlando Shooting (June 13, 2016)

People , World , Education , Democracy

“But if everybody's watching, you know, all of the back room discussions and the deals, you know, then people get a little nervous, to say the least. So, you need both a public and a private position.”

Hillary Clinton

Clinton Speech For National Multi-Housing Council https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/927 (24 April 2013), WikiLeaks.
Attributed

People

“I knew it. I knew this would happen to me… They were never going to let me be president.”

Hillary Clinton

On election night, as reported in Amy Chozick's book Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceiling (2018) and quoted in "Hillary Clinton On Election Night: ‘They Were Never Going to Let Me Be President’" https://www.thedailybeast.com/hillary-clinton-they-were-never-going-to-let-me-be-president by Gideon Resnick, The Daily Beast (20 April 2018)
Attributed

“So for example, I'm the only candidate which has a policy about how to bring economic opportunity using clean renewable energy as the key into coal country. Because we're going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business, right? And we're going to make it clear that we don't want to forget those people. Those people labored in those mines for generations, losing their health, often losing their lives to turn on our lights and power our factories. Now we've got to move away from coal and all the other fossil fuels, but I don't want to move away from the people who did the best they could to produce the energy that we relied on.”

Hillary Clinton

CNN Democratic Presidential Town Hall http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2016/may/10/context-hillary-clintons-comments-about-coal-jobs/ in Columbus, Ohio (13 March 2016)
Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016)

People , Health , Business , Light

“We used to say in the White House that if a place is too dangerous, too small or too poor, send the First Lady.”

Hillary Clinton

Iowa stump speech. http://www.rollingstone.com/nationalaffairs/index.php/2008/03/11/sinbad-on-his-and-hillarys-red-phone-moments-in-bosnia/
Presidential campaign (January 20, 2007 – 2008)

Housing

“ISIS has become quite a self-financing terrorist network with their theft of oil, selling it on the black market with their destruction and seizure of antiquities, selling that on the black market, with their taking over Mosul and raiding the banks. They’ve got a source of funding, so I don’t really know. But I know that the — that Saudi individuals have certainly funded other related terrorist groups over time and also exported a lot of Wahhabi radicalism by kicking out or sending out imams and teachers to set up schools and mosques to preach that particularly harsh brand of Islam. So the Saudis have a lot that they can do to both stop and then to help.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), Speech on fighting ISIS (November 20, 2015)

School , Teachers , Time , Help

“The Cuban people deserve to have their human rights respected and upheld, they deserve to be able to move towards democracy where they pick their own leads. And I think both Castros have to be considered authoritarian and dictatorial because they are not freely chosen by the people that are in Cuba. I hope someday there will be leaders who are chosen by the Cuban people, and I hope that democracy will be deeply rooted in Cuban soil and that the people of Cuba will have every opportunity to fulfill their own dreams in their own country. That is my hope.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), Democratic Presidential Debate in Miami (March 9, 2016)

People , Dreams , Hope , Democracy

“We came, we saw, he died.”

Hillary Clinton

Reaction shortly after learning about the death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, CBS News interview, October 20, 2011 Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2051826/We-came-saw-died-What-Hillary-Clinton-told-news-reporter-moments-hearing-Gaddafis-death.html CBS News http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20123348-503544/clinton-on-qaddafi-we-came-we-saw-he-died/
Secretary of State (2009–2013)

“We’re going to refinance everyone’s existing student debt, 40 million Americans have student debt. … Under my plan, you will be able to also lower your debt, move into a program to pay it back as a percentage of your income and more than that, my plan for debt-free tuition at public colleges and universities will eventually eliminate any student debt. But for people who have it, I’m going to put a date certain that after a certain number of years, you no longer have to pay anything. The government has to quit making money off of lending money to young people to get their education.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), Democratic Presidential Debate in Miami (March 9, 2016)

Money , People , Education , Universe

“It's not easy, it's not easy. And I couldn't do it if I just didn't, you know, passionately believe it was the right thing to do. You know, I've had so many opportunities from this country, I just don't want to see us fall backwards - no. So - you know, this is very personal for me. It's not just political, it's not just public. I see what's happening, and we have to reverse it. And some people think elections are a game, they think it's like who's up or who's down. It's about our country, it's about our kids' futures, and it's really about all of us together. You know some of us put ourselves out there and do this against some pretty difficult odds. And we do it, each one of us, because we care about our country. But some of us are right and some of us are wrong, some of us are ready and some of us are not, some of us know what we will do to do on day one and some of haven't really thought that through enough. And so when we look at the array of problems we have and the potential for it getting - really spinning out of control, this is one of the most important elections America's ever faced. So as tired as I am - and I am - and as difficult as it is to try to kind of keep up with what I try to do on the road like occasionally exercise and try to eat right - it's tough when the easiest food is pizza - I just believe so strongly in who we are as a nation. So I'm going to do everything I can to make my case and, you know, then the voters get to decide.”

Hillary Clinton

In response to the question, "How do you do it?" from Marianne Pernold The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/07/AR2008010702954.html
Presidential campaign (January 20, 2007 – 2008)

People , Food , Exercises , Game

“Rich people, God bless us. We deserve all the opportunities to make sure our country and our blessings continue to the next generation.”

Hillary Clinton

FOX News interview http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,353759,00.html with Bill O'Reilly, April 30, 2008.
Presidential campaign (January 20, 2007 – 2008)

God , People , Country

“He’d abolish the bedrock constitutional principle that says if you’re born in the United States, you’re an American citizen. He says that children born in America to undocumented parents are, quote, "anchor babies" and should be deported. Millions of them.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), Speech in (August 25, 2016)

Children , Quotes , Parent , Baby

“Our Founders fought a revolution and wrote a Constitution so America would never be a nation where one person had all the power. Two hundred and forty years later, we still put our faith in each other.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), (July 28, 2016)

Faith , Personality

“That was a poor choice of words. As I've said throughout this campaign, the people at the heart of this issue are children, parents, families, DREAMers. They have names, and hopes and dreams that deserve to be respected. I've talked about undocumented immigrants hundreds of times and fought for years for comprehensive immigration reform. And I will continue to do so. We are a country built by immigrants and our diversity makes us stronger as a nation – it's something to be proud of, celebrate, and defend.”

Hillary Clinton

2015-11-24
Hillary Apologizes For Saying ‘Illegal Immigrant': ‘That Was a Poor Choice of Words’
Alex Griswold
mediaite.com
http://www.mediaite.com/online/hillary-apologizes-for-saying-illegal-immigrant-that-was-a-poor-choice-of-words/
Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016)

Children , People , Family , Dreams

“When more than 90% of the gains have gone to the top 1%, that's where the money is. And we are going to follow the money. And if companies take tax breaks and then ship jobs overseas, we'll make them pay us back. And we'll put that money to work where it belongs … creating jobs here at home!”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), (July 28, 2016)

Money , Home

“America isn’t afraid to compete.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), Speech in Warren, Michigan (August 11, 2016)

“We have the most dynamic, productive workforce in the world, bar none. We have the most innovative businesses. The top colleges, universities, community colleges, training programs in the world. And the best science and technology. We have enormous capacity for clean energy production. We are resilient, determined, hard-working. There is nothing America can’t do – if we do it together. And I know this because this is how I was raised. And I don’t think Mr. Trump understands any of it. He hasn’t offered any credible solutions for the very real economic challenges we face.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), Speech in Warren, Michigan (August 11, 2016)

World , Communication , Understanding , Business

“From my perspective, you get up every day and you get out there and you make your case, and you reach as many people as possible. That's what I intend to do. So I'm in it for the long run. It's not a very long run. It will be over by February 5.”

Hillary Clinton

George Stephanopoulos' Exclusive Interview with Sen. Hillary Clinton http://www.abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/Story?id=4073183&page=4, December 30, 2007.
Presidential campaign (January 20, 2007 – 2008)

People

“…freedom is never granted. It is earned by each generation… in the face of tyranny, cruelty, oppression, extremism, sometimes there is only one choice. When the world looks to America, America looks to you, and you never let her down… I have never lost faith in America's essential goodness and greatness… I have 35 years of experience, fighting for real change… the American people and our American military cannot want freedom and stability for the Iraqis more than they want it for themselves… we should have stayed focused on wiping out the Taliban and finding, killing, capturing bin Laden and his chief lieutenants… I also made a full commitment to martial American power, resources and values in the global fight against these terrorists. That begins with ensuring that America does have the world's strongest and smartest military force. We've begun to change tactics in Iraq, and in some areas, particularly in Al Anbar province, it's working… We can't be fighting the last war. We have to be preparing to fight the new war… We've got to be prepared to maintain the best fighting force in the world. I propose increasing the size of our Army by 80,000 soldiers, balancing the legacy systems with newer programs to help us keep our technological edge… I'm fighting for a Cold War medal for everyone who served our country during the Cold War, because you were on the front lines of battling communism. Well, now we're on the front lines of battling terrorism, extremism, and we have to win. Our commitment to freedom, to tolerance, to economic opportunity has inspired people around the world… American values are not just about America, but they speak to the human dignity, the God-given spark that resides in each and every person across the world… We are a good and great nation.”

Hillary Clinton

Remarks to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Kansas City, Missouri, August 20, 2007 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/08/21/clinton-iraq-tactics-wo_n_61272.html
Presidential campaign (January 20, 2007 – 2008)

God , War , People , World

“Americans don't say: “I alone can fix it.” We say: “We'll fix it together.””

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), (July 28, 2016)

“I have absolutely no interest in running for president again.”

Hillary Clinton

ABC News TV interview, 2009-10-14. AFP http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gm7wRjrtKmZ_faPv0UVCgiOClxhg
Secretary of State (2009–2013)

“Our democracy has been around far longer than European democracy.”

Hillary Clinton

European Parliament, Brussels, March 6, 2009. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19718.html
Secretary of State (2009–2013)

Democracy

“The gun epidemic is the leading cause of death of young African-American men, more than the next nine causes put together. So we have to do two things, as I said. We have to restore trust. We have to work with the police. We have to make sure they respect the communities and the communities respect them. And we have to tackle the plague of gun violence, which is a big contributor to a lot of the problems that we're seeing today.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), First presidential debate (September 26, 2016)

Death , Men , Communication , Problem

“We have to make it harder for people who should not have those weapons of war. That might not stop every shooting or terrorist attack. But it will stop some and it will save lives and it will protect our first responders.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), Speech about the Orlando Shooting (June 13, 2016)

War , People

“Can't we just drone this guy?”

Hillary Clinton

At a staff meeting (23 November 2010), as reported in "Under Intense Pressure to Silence Wikileaks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Proposed Drone Strike on Julian Assange" http://truepundit.com/under-intense-pressure-to-silence-wikileaks-secretary-of-state-hillary-clinton-proposed-drone-strike-on-julian-assange/, True Pundit (2 October 2016)
Attributed

Guy

“Some country is going to be the clean energy superpower of the 21st century and create millions of jobs and businesses. It’s probably going to be either China, Germany, or America. I want it to be us! We invent the technology, we should make it and use it and export it, which will help to grow our economy.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), Speech in Warren, Michigan (August 11, 2016)

Business , Help , Country

“We have to heal the divides in our country. Not just on guns. But on race. Immigration. And more. That starts with listening to each other. Hearing each other. Trying, as best we can, to walk in each other's shoes.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), (July 28, 2016)

Shoe , Country

“We need more clean energy jobs and we have to do more to help small businesses. You know, the fastest-growing segment of small businesses are minority and women-owned small business, and we need to help businesses get started. We do need to raise the minimum wage and we have to guarantee equal pay for women.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), Democratic Presidential Debate in Miami (March 9, 2016)

Women , Business , Help

“I do not think we should have pushed for an election in the Palestinian territories. I think that was a big mistake. And if we were going to push for an election, then we should have made sure that we did something to determine who was going to win.”

Hillary Clinton

Speaking to the Jewish Press (5 September 2006), as quoted in "2006 Audio Emerges of Hillary Clinton Proposing Rigging Palestine Election" http://observer.com/2016/10/2006-audio-emerges-of-hillary-clinton-proposing-rigging-palestine-election by Ken Kurson, Observer (28 October 2016)
Senate years (2001 – January 19, 2007)

Thinking

“It wasn’t the best choice. I made a mistake. It was not prohibited. It was not in any way disallowed. And as I have said and as now has come out, my predecessors did the same thing and many other people in the government. But here’s the cut to the chase facts. I did not send or receive any emails marked classified at the time. What you are talking about is retroactive classification. And the reason that happens is when somebody asks or when you are asked to make information public, I asked all my emails to be made public. Then all the rest of the government gets to weigh in. … I think that what we have got here is a case of overclassification. …”

Hillary Clinton

When asked about the email controversy.
Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), Democratic Presidential Debate in Miami (March 9, 2016)

People , Way , Thinking , Time

“I did not send nor receive anything that was classified at the time.”

Hillary Clinton

At a campaign stop in Iowa, as quoted in "Clinton: I did not send or get classified emails on private account" http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-clinton-idUSKCN0PZ0S920150726 by Alana Wise, Reuters (25 July 2015)
Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016)

Time

“We need to have strong growth, fair growth, sustained growth. We also have to look at how we help families balance the responsibilities at home and the responsibilities at business.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), First presidential debate (September 26, 2016)

Family , Home , Business , Strong

“Our open, diverse society is an asset in the struggle against terrorism, not a liability. It makes us stronger and more resistant to radicalization. And this raises a larger point about the future of our country. America is strongest when we all believe that we have a stake in our country and our future. This vision has sustained us from the beginning. The belief that, yes, we are all created equal and the journey we have made to turn that into reality over the course of our history, that we are not a land of winners and losers, that we should all have the opportunity to live up to our God-given potential. And we have a responsibility to help others do so as well.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), Speech about the Orlando Shooting (June 13, 2016)

God , History , Reality , Future

“We will also stand united behind our President as he and his advisors plan the necessary actions to demonstrate America's resolve and commitment. Not only to seek out and exact punishment on the perpetrators, but to make very clear that not only those who harbor terrorists, but those who in any way aid or comfort them whatsoever will now face the wrath of our country. And I hope that that message has gotten through to everywhere it needs to be heard. You are either with America in our time of need or you are not.”

Hillary Clinton

Statement in the US Senate in response to the World Trade Center and Pentagon Attacks (12 September 2001) http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=235656
Senate years (2001 – January 19, 2007)

Hope , Way , Time , Country

“That’s what they offered.”

Hillary Clinton

Speaking at CNN’s Democratic forum, after anchor Anderson Cooper asked Clinton about receiving $650,000 for three speeches to the Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs, The Hill http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/268178-clinton-defends-wall-street-speaking-fees-thats-what-they (February 3, 2016)
Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016)

“If you want to remain on this detail, get your fucking ass over here and grab those bags.”

Hillary Clinton

To an agent, as reported in The First Partner: Hillary Rodham Clinton (1999) by Joyce Milton, p. 259
Attributed

“Attempting to define reality is a core feature of authoritarianism. This is what the Soviets did when they erased political dissidents from historical photos. This is what happens in George Orwell’s classic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, when a torturer holds up four fingers and delivers electric shocks until his prisoner sees five fingers as ordered. The goal is to make you question logic and reason and to sow mistrust towards exactly the people we need to rely on: our leaders, the press, experts who seek to guide public policy based on evidence, ourselves.”

Hillary Clinton What Happened

"Showing Up" https://books.google.com/books?id=UjAIDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA9, What Happened (2017), Simon & Schuster.
Post Presidential Election

Photo , Question , People , Reality

“My mother, Dorothy, was abandoned by her parents as a young girl. She ended up on her own at 14, working as a house maid. She was saved by the kindness of others. Her first grade teacher saw she had nothing to eat at lunch, and brought extra food to share. The lesson she passed on to me years later stuck with me: No one gets through life alone. We have to look out for each other and lift each other up.”

Hillary Clinton

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), 2016 Democratic National Convention (July 28, 2016)

Housing , Food , Girl , Teachers

“I really believe that there are going to be a lot of arguments to make against him that we can look forward to, I’m not going to spill the beans right now. But, suffice it to say that there are many arguments that we can use against him. But, one argument that I am uniquely qualified to bring, because of my service as Secretary of State is what his presidency would mean to our country and our standing in the world. I am already receiving messages from leaders — I’m having foreign leaders ask if they can endorse me to stop Donald Trump.”

Hillary Clinton

13 March 2016 http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2016/03/13/full-rush-transcript-hillary-clinton-partcnn-tv-one-democratic-presidential-town-hall/
Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016)

World , Making love , Country

“We had this brilliant idea that we were going to come to Pakistan and create a force of mujaheddin, equip them with Stinger missiles and everything else, to go after the Soviets inside Afghanistan. And we were successful. The Soviets left Afghanistan. And then we said great, goodbye – leaving these trained people who were fanatical in Afghanistan and Pakistan, leaving them well armed, creating a mess, frankly, that at the time we didn’t really recognize. We were just so happy to see the Soviet Union fall and we thought, okay, fine, we’re okay now, everything’s going to be so much better. Now you look back; the people we’re fighting today we were supporting in the fight against the Soviets.”

Hillary Clinton

Interview With Greta Van Susteren of Fox News https://2009-2017.state.gov/secretary/20092013clinton/rm/2010/07/144969.htm, July 18, 2010
Secretary of State (2009–2013)

Time , Success , Support , People

“I'm the most investigated innocent person in America.”

Hillary Clinton

Post Presidential Election
Source: Xan Brooks. " 'As guarded as Fort Knox': the inside story of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign https://web.archive.org/web/20210305072249/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/03/hillary-clinton-nanette-burstein-interview-presidential-campaign", theguardian.com, 3 juni 2020.

Personality