Hillary Holds Up Russian Hat at Yale Speech, 'No, I'm Not Over It'
The comedy stylings of Hillary Clinton were on display at Yale University Sunday.
The Democratic presidential nominee who lost in a stunning upset to Donald Trump in the 2016 election took a jab at the president during the annual Class Day ceremony, in which attendees are invited to wear unique hats.
“I brought a hat too … a Russian hat,” she told the students as they whooped and cheered. “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”
The laughs didn’t stop there. She told students that she was thrilled for all of them, “even the three of you who live in Michigan and didn’t request your absentee ballots in time.”
She also joked the time she auditioned to join Yale’s famous Whiffenpoofs singing club, saying she had buried the audition tape so deep, “not even Wikileaks will be able to find it.”
She added, “If you thought my emails were scandalous, you should hear my singing voice.”
But seriously folks, Clinton didn’t show up at Yale for a stand-up comedy routine. She came to paint a bleak picture of where the country is at today with the man — whose name she did not mention — in the White House instead of herself.
“No, I’m not over it. I still think about the 2016 election,” Clinton said. “I still regret the mistakes I made. I still think, though, that understanding what happened in such a weird and wild election in American history will help us defend our democracy in the future.”
The former first lady and secretary of state assured everyone that Hillary Clinton, the person, is doing well. “But as an American, I’m concerned,” she said.
She warned Yale’s Class of 2018 that they are graduating amid “one of the most tumultuous times” in American history, referring to it as “a full-fledged crisis” in the country’s democracy.
“There are certain things that are so essential they should transcend politics,” Clinton said. “Waging a war on the rule of law and a free press, de-legitimizing elections, perpetrating shameless corruption, and rejecting the idea that our leaders should be public servants undermines our national unity.”
Clinton told the soon-to-be-graduates that reversing the nation’s course would require a long, hard fight.
“It’s not easy to wade back into the fight every day,” she said.
She said if people aren’t happy with the policies being put forth by government, the most important step is the most simple one: taking the time to vote.
“At this moment in our history, our country depends on every citizen believing in the power of their actions even when that power is invisible and their efforts feel like an uphill battle,” Clinton said.
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