Last night was monumental. Yes, Hillary Clinton accepted her nomination for president of the United States, making history as the first woman of a major political party to do so. And yes, we all heard Hillary’s powerful speech. But right now, the speech I really, really want to talk about is Chelsea Clinton’s. A major part of the Democratic National Convention is to basically make voters like Hillary Clinton. Well, it’s hard not to after hearing Chelsea speak about her mom.
She began her speech on the right note, saying: “I’m here as a proud American, a proud Democrat, a proud mother, and tonight, in particular, a very, very proud daughter.” Considering Chelsea just gave birth to her second child five and a half weeks ago (!) with her Jewish husband Marc Mezvinsky, she definitely understands what it’s like to be a mother–and how much her own mom loves being a grandmother.
Here are some of our favorite quotes from her speech–portraying how devoted her mom is to public service–and to her daughter and grandchildren:
1. Grandma loves FaceTiming with Charlotte–and reading “Chugga Chugga Choo Choo“:
“Mark and I can’t quite believe it but our daughter Charlotte is nearly two years old. She loves Elmo. She loves blueberries, and above all she loves FaceTiming with grandma.
My mom can be about to walk on stage for a debate, or a speech, it just doesn’t matter. She’ll drop everything for a few minutes of blowing kisses and reading Chugga Chugga Choo Choo with her granddaughter. Oh, Chugga Chugga got an applause.”
2. Chelsea recalled a time where her mom read her “Goodnight Moon” and left her notes when she traveled for work:
“My earliest memory is my mom picking me up after I had fallen down, giving me a big hug and reading me Goodnight Moon. From that moment, to this one, every single memory I have of my mom is that regardless of what was happening in her life, she was always, always there for me.
Whenever my mom was away for work, which thankfully didn’t happen very often. She left notes for me to open every day she was gone. All stacked neatly together in a special drawer, with at date on the front of each one, so I would know which note to open on which day.”
3. Hillary makes every moment count:
“And, as her daughter, I’ve had a special window into how she serves. I’ve seen her holding the hands of mothers, worried about how they’ll feed their kids, worried about how they’ll get them the healthcare they need. I’ve seen my mother promising to do everything she could to help. I’ve seen her right after those conversations getting straight to work, figuring out what she could do, who she could call, how fast she could get results.
She always feels, like there isn’t a moment to lose, because she knows that for that mother, for that family there isn’t.”
Of course, I would be lying if I didn’t say I choked up a little at the end of Chelsea’s speech, when she was explaining how devoted Hillary is–and mentioned her own grandmother:
“I’m voting for a fighter who never, ever gives up. Mom, Grandma would be so, so proud of you tonight.”
Read the entire speech here, and watch it below:
https://youtu.be/BwvI6nMrmJk
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