NEW YORK — Hillary Clinton publicly conceded defeat Wednesday morning, telling a gathering of staffers and media in New York City that her failed presidential candidacy had at long last come to a final, crushing end.
“This is painful, and it will be for a long time,” she said during her address. “I’m sorry that we did not win this election for the values we hold and the vision we have for this country.”
Clinton added, “I know how disappointed you feel, because I feel it to.”
“Our best days are still ahead of us,” she said, fighting back tears. “I believe we are stronger together and we will go forward together. And you should never, ever regret fighting for that.”
“I am incredibly honored and grateful to have had this chance to represent all of you in this consequential election. May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America,” the failed presidential candidate concluded.
Moments before her official declaration of surrender, her running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., offered brief remarks of his own, saying, “My wife and I are so proud of Hillary Clinton.”
“She has been a great history-maker,” he added. “I’m proud of Hillary because she loves this country. Nobody had to wonder about whether she would accept the outcome.”
The Democratic nominee’s defeat in the Nov. 8 general election Tuesday came as a total shock to the political and punditry class, people who’d long predicted that GOP nominee Donald Trump had no shot at winning the White House.
Early Wednesday morning, as the winner in the race became increasingly clear, Clinton sent her campaign chairman, John Podesta, to the Javits Center in New York City at around 2:00 a.m. Eastern Time to tell supporters who had gathered there for a celebration to go to bed. He also promised that the campaign would fight on until the last vote was counted.
“They’re still counting votes. Every vote should count,” Podesta said to cheers. “Several states are too close to call. So we’re not going to have anything more to say tonight.”
He then encouraged the Democratic nominee’s supporters to go home and get some rest, and ended his brief remarks with a simple, “Good night!”
Minutes after Podesta left the Javitz Center, and as supporters continued to stream out of the arena, Clinton conceded the election to Trump in a private phone call.
For the Clinton supporters who spent hours and days supporting Clinton’s presidential campaign, and for those who were seen weeping Tuesday as they watched victory slip from them in real-time, news of their nominee’s surrender came either from CNN, NBC News or the GOP president himself.
“I’ve just received a call from Secretary Clinton. She congratulated us — it’s about us — on our victory, and I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign,” Trump said at his victory speech early Wednesday morning. “I mean, she fought very hard. Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country.”
On Wednesday morning, as she apologized to her staff and supporters, Clinton encouraged voters to give the GOP nominee a chance.
“I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans,” she said. “Trump is going to be our next president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead.
“I still believe in America. We must accept this results,” she added.
