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Hillary Clinton: What she said about Trump in his own backyard

By Eliot Kleinberg
March 16, 2016
A jubilant Hillary Clinton, buoyed by sweeping wins in Florida, North Carolina and Ohio, told a West Palm Beach crowd Tuesday night, “I’ve never had more faith in our future.”

For the estimated 1,300 supporters gathered at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, the suspense had ended pretty early, at least as Florida was concerned.

By 7 p.m., early numbers showed the Democratic presidential front-runner running away with the Florida primary, in some cases by as much as two to one, and even more at various points. CNN projected Clinton won the primary as soon as the polls closed at 8 p.m. in Florida’s Panhandle.

In the hour before Clinton came out at just before 9 p.m., the crowd continued to cheer as news agencies gave her North Carolina and Ohio. Around that time, Florida’s own Marco Rubio, beaten in his home state, told supporters in Miami he was dropping out of the Republican race.

“Thank you Florida. Thank you North Carolina. Thank you Ohio,” a slightly hoarse Clinton shouted above cheers.

"Tonight, it's clearer than ever that this may be one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime," she said. "You voted for our tomorrows to be better than our yesterdays."

In her remarks, which lasted about 10 minutes, Clinton took some subtle and not-so-subtle shots at Donald Trump, who might just be her opponent in November. Trump won Florida Tuesday as well. And, in a bit of cosmic alignment, hosted his own event just a few miles away at his Mar-a-Lago Club on Palm Beach.

The next president, she said, has to be ready to “make positive differences in peoples lives,” make Americans safe, and “bring the country together.”
And in another dig at Trump’s controversial comments and fractious rallies, she said that if Americans embrace love instead of bigotry, “there’s nothing we can’t accomplish.”

She said that when Trump "embraces torture, that doesn't make him strong, it makes him wrong." And, she said, "Our commander-in-chief has to be able to defend our country. Not embarrass it. "

Earlier Tuesday Clinton had made a surprise visit to a suburban West Palm Beach doughnut shop, schmoozing with seniors from nearby Century Village about their grandchildren and reminding everyone to, if they hadn’t already, get out and vote before polls closed at 7 p.m.
“I’m happy to be here in Florida and looking forward to see what happens tonight,” Clinton told local and national reporters who’d jammed into the little shop for her 11-1/2 minute visit.

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Eliot Kleinberg

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