should. americans are willing to work and work hard, but right now an awful lot of people feel there is less and less respect for the work they do. and less respect for them, period. democrats, we are the party of working people. but we haven't done a g enough job showing we get what you're going through, and we're going to do something to help. so tonight i want to tell you how we will empower americans to live better lives. my primary mission as president will be to create more opportunity and more good jobs with rising wages right here in the united states.

my last, especially in places that for too long have been left out and left behind, from our inner cities to our small towns, from indian country to coal country, from communities ravaged by addiction to regions hollowed out by plant closures. here's what i believe. i believe america thrives when the middle class i believe our economy isn't working the way it should because our democracy isn't working the way it should. that's why we need to appoint supreme court justices who will get money out of politics and

and if necessary, we will pass a constitutional amendment to overturn citizens united. i believe american corporations that have gotten so much from our country should be just as patriotic in return. many of them are, but tooy with one hand and give out pink slips with the other. and i believe wall street can never, ever be allowed to wreck main street again.

i believe climate change is real and that we could save our planet while creating millions of good-paying, clean energy jobs. i believe that when we have millions of hard working immigrants contributing to our economy, it would be try to kick them out. comprehensive immigration reform will grow our economy and keep families together, and it's the right thing to do. so whatever party you belong to or if you belong to no party at

this is your campaign. if you believe that companies should share profits, not pad executive bonuses, join us. if you believe the minimum wage should be a living wage and no one working full time poverty, join us. if you believe that every man, woman and child in america has the right to affordable health care, join us. if you believe that we should say no to unfair trade deals, that we should stand up to

autoworkers and homegrown manufacturers, then join us. if you believe we should expand social security and protect a woman's right to make her own health care decisions, then join us. and yes, yes, if you believe that your working mother, wife, sister or daughter deserves equal pay, join us. that's how we're going to make sure this economy works for everyone, not just those at the top. now, you didn't hear any of

at his convention. he spoke for 70-odd minutes, and i do mean odd. and he offered zero solutions. but we already know, he doesn't believe these things. no wonder he doesn't like talking about his plans. you might have noticed, i talking about mine. in my first 100 days, we will work with both parties to pass the biggest investment in new good-paying jobs since world war ii. jobs in manufacturing, clean energy, technology and innovation, small business and infrastructure. if we invest in infrastructure

today but lay the foundation for the jobs of the future. we will also transform the way we prepare our young people for those jobs. bernie sanders and i will work together to make college tuition free for the middle class and debt-free for all. we liberate millions of people who already have student debt. it's just not right that donald trump can ignore his debts and students and families can't refinance their debts.

enough, sure, college is crucial, but a four-year degree should not be the only path to a good job. we will help more people learn a skill or practice a trade and make a good living doing it. we will give small businesses like my dad's a boost. make it easier to get may too many dreams die in the parking lots of banks. in america, if you can dream it, you should be able to build it. and we will help you balance family and work. and you know what, if fighting for affordable child care and paid family leave is playing the

[ cheers and applause ] now, now here's the other thing. now we're not only -- we're not only going to make all of these investments, we're going and here's how. wall street, corporations and the super rich are going to start paying their fair share of taxes. this is not because we resent success, but when more than 90% of the gains have gone to the

is, and we are going to follow the money. and if companies take tax breaks and then shift jobs overseas, we'll make them pay us back and we'll put that money to work where it belongs, creating jobs here at home. now, now i imagine that some of you are sitting at home thinking, we pretty good, but how are you going to get it done? how are you going to break through the gridlock in washington? well look at my record. i've worked across the aisle to pass laws and treaties and to launch new programs that help millions of people. and if you give me the chance, that's exactly what i'll do as president. but then, but then i also imagine people are thinking out

businessman. he must know something about the economy. well, let's take a closer look, shall we? in atlantic city, 60 miles from here, you will find contractors and small businesses who lost everything because donald trump refused to pay his bills. now remember what the president said last night. don't boo, vote. but think of this. people who did the work and needed the money, not because he couldn't pay them but because he wouldn't pay them. he just stiffed them. and you know what sales pitch he's making to be president. put your faith in him and you'll

made to all those small businesses. then trump walked away and left working people holding the bag. he also talked a big game about putting america first. well, please explain, what part of america first leads him to make trump ties in china, not colorado, trump suits in mexico, not michigan. trump furniture in turkey, ohio. trump picture frames in india, not wisconsin. donald trump says he wants to make america great again. well, he could start by actually making things in america again. now, the choice we face in this

it comes to our national security. [ crowd chanting "hillary" ] you know anyone, anyone reading the news can see the threats and turbulence we face from baghdad to kabul to nice and paris and brussels, from san bernardino to orlando, we're dealing with determined enemies that must be defeated. so it's no wonder that people are anxious and looking for reassurance, looking for steady leadership, wanting a leader who understands we are stronger when we work with our allies around the world and care for our veterans here at home.

honoring the people who do that work will be my highest priority. i'm proud that we put a lid on iran's nuclear program without firing a single shot. now we have to enforce it. and we must keep supporting israel's security. i'm proud climate agreement. now we have to hold every country accountable to their commitment, including ourselves. and i'm proud to stand by our allies in nato against any threat they face, including from russia. i've laid out my strategy for defeating isis.

from the air and support local forces taking them out on the ground. we will surge our intelligence so we detect and prevent attacks before they happen. we will disrupt their efforts online to reach and radicalize young people in our country. it won't be easy or quick, but make no mistake, we will prevail. now, donald trump, dd know more about isis than the generals do. no, donald, you don't. he thinks -- he thinks he knows more than our military because

well, i've had the privilege to work closely with our troops and our veterans for many years, including as a senator on the armed services committee, and i know how wrong he is. our military is a national treasure. we entrust our commander in chief to make the hardest decisions our nation faces. decisions about war and peace, life and death. a president should lives to serve our country. including, including captain kahn and the sons of tim kaine and mike pence, both marines. so just ask yourself, do you

the temperament to be commander in chief? donald trump can't even handle the rough and tumble of a presidential campaign. he loses his cool at the slightest provocation. when he's gotten a tough question from a reporter, when he's challenged in a debate, when he sees a protester at a rally, imagine if you office facing a real crisis. a man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons. i can't put it -- i can't put it

crisis. she said that what worried president kennedy during that very dangerous time was that a war might be started, not by big men with self control and restraint, but by little men, the ones moved by fear and pride. america's strength doesn't come from lashing out,t smarts, judgment, cool resolve and the precise and strategic application of power, and that's the kind of commander in chief i pledge to be. and if we're serious about keeping our country safe, we also can't afford to have a

the gun lobby. i'm not here to repeal the second amendment. i'm not here to take away your guns. i just don't want you to be shot by someone who shouldn't have a gun in the first place. we will -- we will work tirelessly with responsible gun owners to pass common sense reforms and keep guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists and all others who would do us harm. you know, for decades people

hard to solve and the politics too hot to touch. but i ask you, how can we just stand by and do nothing? you heard, you saw family members of people killed by gun violence on this stage. you heard, you saw family members of police officers killed in the line of duty because they were outgunned by criminals. i refuse to be find common ground here. we have to heal the divides in our country, not just on guns, but on race, immigration and more. and that starts with listening. listening to each other, trying as best we can to walk in each other's shoes.

men and women who face the effect of systemic racism and are made to feel like their lives are disposable. let's put ourselves in the shoes of police officers kissing their kids and spouses good-bye every day, heading off to do a dangerou we will reform our criminal justice system from end to end and rebuild trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. and we will defend -- we will defend all our rights, civil rights, human rights and voting rights, women's rights and

the rights of people with disabilities. and we will stand up against mean and divisive rhetoric wherever it comes from. you know, for the past year many people made the mistake of laughing off donald trump's comments, excusing him as an entertainer just putting on a show. they tho possibly mean all the horrible things he says. like when he called women pigs or said that an american judge couldn't be fair because of his mexican heritage. or when he mocks and mimics a reporter with a disability or insults prisoners of war like john mccain, a hero and a patriot who deserves our respect.

either. it was just too hard to fathom that someone who wants to lead our nation could say those things, could be like that. but here's the sad truth. there is no other donald trump. this is it. and in the end, it comes down to what donald trump doesn't get. america is so enough with the bigotry and the bombast. donald trump isn't offering real change, he's offering empty promises. and what are we offering? a bold agenda to improve the lives of people across our country to keep you safe, to get you good jobs, to give your kids

the choice is clear, my friends. every generation of americans has come together to make our country freer, fairer and stronger. none of us ever have or can do it alone. i know that at a time when so much seems to be pulling us apart, it can be hard to imagine how we'll ever pull together. but i'm here to tonight, progress is possible. i know, i know because i've seen it in the lives of people across america who get knocked down and get right back up. and i know it, i know it from my own life. more than a few times i've had to pick myself up and get back in the game.

got this from my mother too. she never let me back down from any challenge. when i tried to hide from a neighborhood bully, she literally blocked the door. go back out there, she said. and she was right. you have to stand up to bullies. you have to keep working to make things better. even when the odds are long and the opposition is fierce. we lost our ago, but i miss her every day and i still hear her voice, urging me to keep working, keep fighting for right, no matter what. that's what we need to do together as a nation. and though we may not live to see the glory as the song from the musical "hamilton" goes, let us gladly join the fight.

seeds in a garden you never get to see. that's why we're here. not just in this hall but on this earth. the founders showed us that, and so have many others since. they were drawn together by love of country and the selfless passion to build something better for all who follow. that is the story of america and we begin a new chapter tonight. yes, the world is we do. yes, america's destiny is ours to choose. so let's be stronger together, my fellow americans. let's look to the future with courage and confidence. let's build a better tomorrow for our beloved children and our beloved country. and when we do, america will be greater than ever.

and the united states of america. [ cheers and applause ] ? >> hillary clinton taking in the moment after a 56-minute long speech. direct rebuttal of the vision that donald trump offered the country just a week ago, playing off of themes that president obama and some of the other speakers, particularly of yesterday, laid down about hope and optimism and the argument

and does not need to be great again. her running mate, tim kaine. chuck todd, savannah guthrie, tom brokaw with me watching this. chuck, the bar was high tonight. >> yeah. >> how did she measure >> stem winder and hillary clinton will never be in the same sentence. for hillary clinton this was all prose tonight. it sounded like part state of the union, part rebuttal to trump. probably the biggest impression i got, i was amazed how comfortable she is pushing a very progressive agenda. this was a speech that bernie sanders could have given policywise. and i'm sure it's not the speech many people would have thought a

ago at this time. that part was striking. by the way, more references by her about trump than trump did in his speech last week about her. that was interesting too. >> she really -- >> it was a referendum on him. >> she owned in on the whole notion that trump saying i alone can fix the country. savannah. >> i thought it was interesting too that she led more or less with an attack on trump before she got into her own biography. when i personally the fireworks go off. >> fireworks are going off behind us. >> what she had to do was present a different side of her. i'm not sure if she did that. i don't know if she remade her image tonight, and maybe that was too high a bar for anybody. >> to me it was emblematic of hillary clinton. >> but it was very hillary clinton. so if you like her, if you love her, you love this speech. if you do not, i don't think there was anything in there to change your mind.

punch. but it was a do no harm speech. >> it was a grinder. >> the balloons dropping, the kaines and the clintons. tom. >> the important part of the evening for the democrats and for hillary clinton is this is a very unified party and a very unified hall as opposed to what we saw a week ago. frankly, i was surprised that she went after trump as directly as she did. case by case, line by line, because they know that their best hope him. and he plays into that very often. so what happens to the progressive agenda as we move through the next months, september, october and november, we'll see about that. i think we'll hear more about trump than we are a lot of the other things. there's hope here we can unify the country, we are great, and we're never going to let you forget that donald trump is in this race and saying what he has been saying about this country.

you recall nicolle worked with the mccain and palin campaign was with us. after donald trump spoke you said something to the effect that the republican party that you knew was dead. i'm wondering if you think hillary clinton made an effective appeal to republicans who may feel the same. >> for me, she squandered the opening that president obama gave her last night. republicans have been swooning since the moment that obama took the stage last night and defined conservatism as something separate from trumpism. he made a case against trumpism, which she did not echo tonight. she went back to a standard progressive liberal stump speech. so where republicans may have felt last night like there might be a safe harbor somewhere within the tent of the democratic party for us, i think once again republicans are

if they're not enthused with a donald trump candidacy. >> chuck, does that surprise you? >> no. i had that same impression through the speech. i thought it was -- i tried to remember the last time -- tom, maybe you remember. maybe it goes back to walter mondale in '84 where she so comfortably talked about we're going to follow the money and we're going to tax it. you know, bill clinton spent 20 years moving the democratic party the other way. now, again, this is about sanders like this speech was a reflection of the primary, not necessarily a reflection of the general. >> i couldn't agree more. frankly for the disenchanted republicans who are out there, their sanctuary at this point is, well, if we elect her, we just get a third term of obama. at least if we get somebody else in there, they're going to change the status quo. and she didn't give them a lot of hope that she was going to change the status quo quite honestly.

i thought it would have been something about how to rearrange the economy, how to get jobs created by, for example, financing something like new skill sets for workers, that kind of thing. but there was none of that. >> well, we see on the floor a sea of balloons and confetti and somewhere among all of that is our kristen welker, white house correspondent, who also follows the hillary clinton campaign. kristen, how did the speech go over on >> i'm here by the new york delegation, savannah, and i have to tell you they were going wild for her speech. of course she is a former senator from new york, so you would expect that. part of the goal of this speech and these speeches that we heard from chelsea clinton and former president bill clinton was to try to humanize her, to reverse some of those high negative ratings that she has. so she tried to take a step toward doing that. she did get personal, particularly at the top of her speech talking about chelsea and

will voters buy it, that's the big question. i have to tell you, we did hear some outbursts in the crowd, some bernie sanders supporters who seemed to be shouting out while she was speaking. that was overwhelmed by the broader audience shouting out "hillary." she's going to hit the road with tim kaine through pennsylvania and ohio tomorrow, so we'll see how voters on the trail respond. back to you. >> kristen welker, thanks very much. as we continue to watch the celebration, the balloons confetti, the clinton family, the kaine family and various loved ones on the stage. we'll take a break and be back with more of our coverage live