Hillary Clinton Urges Americans to Never Give Up

In her first remarks since conceding the presidential election to Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton said she was disappointed in the result but urged discouraged Americans not to give up on their country.

“I know that over the past week, a lot of people have asked themselves whether America is the country we thought it was,” Mrs. Clinton said at a Children’s Defense Fund dinner in Washington. “The divisions laid bare by this election run deep. But please listen to me when I say this, America is worth it. Our children are worth it. Believe in our country, fight for our values, and never, ever give up.”
The former Democratic nominee’s speech was her first public appearance in a week, though she was spotted late last week by hikers near her home in Chappaqua, N.Y. She didn’t address Mr. Trump by name and broke little ground, though she did express her disappointment four different times.

“I know many of you are deeply disappointed about the results of the election. I am too, more than I can ever express,” she said.
Mrs. Clinton said speaking at a Washington dinner so soon after losing an election that she expected to win “wasn’t the easiest thing for me. There have been a few times this past week where all I wanted to do was curl up with a good book or our dogs and never leave the house again.”
But the cause of helping children required her attendance, Mrs. Clinton said. She worked for the Children’s Defense Fund after she graduated law school and often talked about that experience on the campaign trail.

In her remarks Wednesday night, Mrs. Clinton also expressed optimism that her causes of social justice eventually would carry the day in American politics.

“The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice,” she said. “Sometimes it can feel awfully long, believe me I know, but I also know it does bend.”