Hillary Clinton celebrated her triumph as the first woman to lead a major party in a race for the White House, scoring big wins in California and New Jersey to cement her grip on the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.
The former first lady, US senator and secretary of state spoke to supporters at a raucous event in Brooklyn, New York, and placed her achievement in the context of the women’s rights movement.
Thanks to you, we have reached a milestone,” Clinton said in a speech. “We all owe so much to who came before.”
Clinton appealed to supporters of party rival Bernie Sanders. She said Democrats had been bolstered by his campaign for eradicating income inequality, which has commanded huge crowds and galvanised younger voters. Not yet ready to concede, Sanders vowed to fight on.
Clinton also harshly attacked Donald Trump, her presumptive Republican rival in the November 8 presidential election, for using divisive rhetoric that belittled women, Muslims and immigrants. She took specific aim at his condemnation of an Indiana-born judge of Mexican heritage.
“The stakes in this election are high and the choice is clear. Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit to be president and commander in chief,” Clinton said.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday showed Clinton leading Trump by 10-percentage points nationally as they launch their general election battle, little changed from a week earlier.
Obama, Sanders to meet
Clinton edged Sanders out in a rough-and-tumble battle that stretched over four months and 50 states. She won support, especially among older voters, with a more pragmatic campaign focused on building on the policies of her fellow Democrat, President Barack Obama.
Obama called both Clinton and Sanders on Tuesday. The White House said he congratulated her on securing the delegates necessary to clinch the nomination and would meet Sanders on Thursday at Sanders’ request.
Few options
For his part, Sanders seems to have few options left.
Democratic Party elites are lined up squarely behind Clinton, including most likely Obama, who may endorse his former secretary of state as early as this week. Pressure will mount on Sanders to exit graciously and throw his support to Clinton.
Eight years ago in June 2008, Clinton did exactly that when she ended her bitter primary fight with Obama. At the time, it appeared unclear whether Obama would be able to garner the support of Clinton’s most ardent backers, but that election drew the highest voter turnout in generations.
At a rally in Santa Monica on Tuesday, Sanders showed no interest in ending his upstart candidacy, telling cheering supporters he would go on campaigning through next Tuesday’s primary in the District of Columbia and carry his political mission – although not necessarily his campaign – to the party convention in Philadelphia next month.
Prominent Democrats say that unifying the party now is the highest priority, and that if Sanders maintains his challenge to Clinton through the July 25-28 convention, Trump will benefit.
Even if Sanders does concede, his supporters may not go quietly. Recent polls showed several said they would have trouble supporting Clinton in a matchup against Trump, saying they either would not vote or would support a third-party candidate.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
