Nearly a decade after failing for the second time to become the first female U.S. president, Hillary Clinton is finally having her moment.
After fighting with everything she had and falling short, thus clearing the way for a disasterous four years of Donald Trump, Clinton may understand the 78-year-old would-be dictator better than anyone. She’s been on the receiving end of his ceaseless attacks, she’s fought against heartless policy points and brainless ad hominem bombardments, and she’s now bringing all that experience she gained to task for Kamala Harris.
Clinton was among a wave of familiar faces who made an appearance at the first night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, and she stole the night with her impeccable speech. She wasn’t America’s choice for our first female president — that honor may just go to Harris — but her speech served as a gorgeous reminder of what could have been.
Eight years ago, we were enduring an election cycle much like this one. It was saturated in toxic, bigoted attacks that ignored policy in favor of salacious muckraking, it was dominated by the man who yelled the loudest, rather than the woman who fought the hardest, and it served as a painful reminder of how backward certain portions of this nation remain. As we live out this repeat of 2016, Clinton is all-in — and enjoying a satisfying full-circle moment of her own.
As she took the stage on the first night of the DNC, Clinton delivered an impeccable speech, in which she emphasized the stark difference between the two options for president. Every moment of the speech was pure gold, but it was her mention of Trump’s 34 felony convictions that brought about the best moment of the event so far, after Clinton’s words prompted a familiar chant from the crowd. As hundreds of people chanted out “lock him up” — the same words so frequently hurled Clinton’s way — the former presidential candidate simply stood, steadfast and stern, and nodded along to the chorus.
It may well serve as the standout moment of the entire DNC. Clinton was on the precipice of history with her 2016 bid, and it was snatched away by a blustering egomaniac who thinks being nasty is a presidential quality. We were then served four years of consequences for that decision, as Trump fumbled his way through every challenge he came across, nearly starting wars, straining alliances, and losing American lives to his atrocious decision making.
Now the tables are turned. Clinton is riding high on the freedom of her new sidelined position, while Trump deteriorates into a petulant puddle in the face of yet another powerful woman. His prospects dwindle by the day, he’s facing down serious criminal charges and looming jail time, and Clinton will sleep peacefully to a lullaby eight years in the making.