Clinton Worried She'd Have Trouble Getting Through Speech

'It just was a sense of momentous historic experience'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 9, 2016 4:58 AM CDT
Updated Jun 9, 2016 6:07 AM CDT
Clinton On Her Win: 'I Was Overwhelmed'
They heart Hillary: Clinton supporters hold up logos during her Brooklyn rally.   (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

After making history on Tuesday, the first female presumptive nominee of a major US party spent much of Wednesday talking to the media about how it felt to make history—and about her plans for the future. Some highlights from Hillary Clinton's interviews with CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post:

  • On how she felt moments before declaring victory in the Democratic race before a Brooklyn crowd: "I was overwhelmed," Clinton says. "It just was a sense of momentous historic experience—that I was part of it and it really was hard to actually, you know, make sense of it." She says she had to take time to collect herself, because she worried "just the emotion of the moment would be so intense that I might have trouble getting through the speech itself."

  • On the American political system: "I really believe our system is probably the most challenging in the world," Clinton says. "If you're a prime minister, you're chosen by your peers. If you're president, you run statewide, but it's usually with the backing of a party and you don't have to raise the money to run." Female candidates, however, "all face the same scrutiny, and questions about ourselves, so there are similarities."
  • On potential running mates: "I'm looking at the most qualified people, and that includes women, of course, because I want to be sure that whoever I pick could be president immediately if something were to happen—that's the most important qualification," Clinton says. "It doesn't matter to me who the person is, as long as that person can really do the job that is required," she continues, adding that she's not sure when she will make the decision.
  • On Donald Trump, and what she calls "an outrageous, racist attack" on a federal judge: "Even though I can't say what's in his heart, if you say someone can't do their job because of their heritage, that is certainly a racist attack," Clinton says. "And it's just plain wrong. It has no place in our politics."
  • On the Clinton Foundation, and donations to it from foreign governments: "Money that has been given to the foundation goes to support humanitarian work. And if people want to influence anybody in office, I think they would choose the political work. And indeed, the work of the foundation really speaks for itself."
  • On Bernie Sanders: "We've had a tough-fought race, and I, you know, admire his energy, his determination and commitment," Clinton says. "I am certainly reaching out. Our campaigns are talking about how we can be unified, against the threat that Donald Trump poses to our future, and I want to unite the party and the country."
  • On her current reading: Clinton, who notes she's looking forward to spending some time in bookstores now that she has some time for a break, says she recently finished Find a Way, swimmer Diana Nyad's memoir about her epic Cuba-to-Florida swim at the age of 64, and it will be on her mind in the months to come. "When you're facing big challenges in your life, you can think about Diana Nyad getting attacked by the lethal sting of box jellyfishes," she says. "And nearly anything else seems doable in comparison."
(Elizabeth Warren hasn't ruled out becoming Clinton's VP.)

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