--- title: DNC: Read Bill Clinton's Speech Transcript description: In a wide-ranging speech, former President Bill Clinton vigorously defended his wife and made the case for her presidency. canonical: https://time.com/4425599/dnc-bill-clinton-speech-transcript-video/ author: Will Drabold article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-27T03:05:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-24T12:34:57.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read Bill Clinton's Speech at the Democratic Convention og:description: "She is the best darn change maker I have ever known" og:url: https://time.com/4425599/dnc-bill-clinton-speech-transcript-video/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1de733982a896747/69889f99ab6d77d5966aaa6d/bill-clinton-dnc-ben-lowy.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4240 og:image:height: 2385 og:image:alt: TIMEPOL DNC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read Bill Clinton's Speech at the Democratic Convention twitter:description: "She is the best darn change maker I have ever known" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1de733982a896747/69889f99ab6d77d5966aaa6d/bill-clinton-dnc-ben-lowy.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read Bill Clinton's Speech at the Democratic Convention > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Will Drabold](https://time.com/author/will-drabold/) ## Will Drabold Updated: Jan 24, 2024 12:34 PM UTCPublished: Jul 27, 2016 3:05 AM UTC  Former President Bill Clinton speaks about his wife, Hillary Clinton, at the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 26, 2016 in Philadelphia. Former President Bill Clinton speaks about his wife, Hillary Clinton, at the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 26, 2016 in Philadelphia.Ben Lowy for TIME by [Will Drabold](https://time.com/author/will-drabold/) ## Will Drabold Updated: Jan 24, 2024 12:34 PM UTCPublished: Jul 27, 2016 3:05 AM UTC In a wide-ranging speech, former President Bill Clinton vigorously defended his wife and made the case for her presidency. He said at the Democratic National Convention Republicans have created a “cartoon” of Hillary Clinton because they fear the “real change” she would bring to America. “But good for you, because earlier today, you nominated the real one,” Clinton said of his wife. The president had the crowd rocking and cheering as he jabbed Trump, joked about his record and spoke for nearly 45 minutes. “She is still the best darn change maker I have ever known,” Clinton said hours after Democrats officially nominated the first female presidential nominee of a major political party. **Read More:** [_Bill Clinton Has Spoken Over 35,000 Words at Democratic Conventions_](http://time.com/4425631/dnc-bill-clinton-words/) After a Monday marred by discord and a Tuesday full of vote-driven unity, Clinton rallied Democrats to get behind his wife. “Hillary will make us stronger together,” he said. Read Clinton’s remarks as delivered below: --- > “” --- ### Hillary and Bill Clinton’s Political Romance in Photos  Hillary and Bill Clinton have been married 40 years— much of it spent in the political spotlight. Here, Hillary Rodham and Bill Clinton married at a small ceremony on Oct. 11, 1975 - present Courtesy William J. Clinton Presidential Library Courtesy William J. Clinton Presidential Library  Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and wife Hillary Rodham hold their week-old baby Chelsea on March 5, 1980. Donald R. Broyles—AP  Former Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton celebrate his victory in the Democratic runoff in Little Rock, Ark. on June 8, 1982. AP  Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton hugs his wife Hillary Clinton after she introduced him to well wishers at a downtown Chicago hotel, March 10, 1992. Ralf-Finn Hestoft—AP  Hillary Rodham Clinton sits on the lap of her husband, democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton left, as she jokes with vice presidential candidate Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, during a brief rest on their bus in Durham, N.C., on Oct. 26, 1992. Stephen Savoia—AP  Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton comforts his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton on the set of the news program '60 Minutes' after a stage light unexpectedly broke loose from the ceiling and knocked her down on Jan. 26, 1992. CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images  President Bill Clinton dances with First Lady Hillary Clinton on stage on Jan. 20, 1993 in Washington. Eleven inaugural balls were held on the same evening in honor of President Clinton's election. Diana Walker—Liaison/Getty Images  President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton give each other a hug while playing golf at the Mink Meadows Golf Club on Martha's Vineyard Aug. 27,1993 in Massachusetts. J. David Ake—AFP/Getty Images  President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton cut vegetables at the Covenant Baptist Church in Washington, on Nov. 24, 1993. Doug Mills—AP  President Bill Clinton bikes with his wife, Hillary Clinton, during their vacation on Martha's Vineyard in 1994. Evan Richman—The Boston Globe/Getty Images  President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton drink Coca-Cola at Moscow's Coca-Cola refreshments plant on May 11, 1995. Greg Gibson—AP  President Bill Clinton puts an arm around his wife, Hillary Clinton, while watching Old Faithful erupt at Yellowstone National Park, Wyo., on Aug. 25, 1995\. The first family visited several Yellowstone sites while on vacation. Doug Mills—AP  President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton share a moment during an East Room ceremony at the White House on July 17, 1996. Ron Edmonds—AP  President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton look at each other as they opened the White House Conference on Child Care Thursday Oct. 23, 1997 in the East Room of the White House. J. Scott Applewhite—AP  First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton visits President Bill Clinton on March 14, 1997 at Bethesda Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. after he underwent surgery on his knee. AP  First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, squeezes the chin of President Bill Clinton during the kick-off rally for The President's Summit in Philadelphia on April 27, 1997. Tim Shaffer—AP  President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton dance on the beach of Megan Bay, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands shortly after taking a swim on Jan. 4, 1998. Paul J. Richards—AFP/Getty Images  First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton watches President Bill Clinton as he thanks Democratic members of the House of Representatives who voted against impeachment on Dec. 19, 1998, following the Lewinsky scandal. Susan Walsh—AP  President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton embrace during the New York State Senate luncheon on July 29, 2000 in New York City. Pablo Martinex Monsivais—AP  Senatorial candidate for New York and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton with husband President Bill Clinton pose for photos with the workers at Gianelli's Italian Sausages at the State Fair on Sept. 2, 2000 in Syracuse, N.Y. Tim Sloan—AFP/Getty Images  New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and her husband former President Bill Clinton smile after she won her second term, during a rally held by New York Democrats, in New York, on Nov. 7, 2006. Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images  Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., is hugged by her husband, former President Bill Clinton as he introduces her during a campaign rally in Louisville, Ky. on May 19, 2008. Elise Amendola—AP  Former President Bill Clinton and then Secretary of State-elect Hillary Clinton celebrate the beginning of the year 2009 during the ceremony to lower the Times Square New Year's Eve ball in Times Square on Jan. 1, 2009 in New York. Jemal Countess—Getty Images  Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her husband former U.S. president Bill Clinton embrace during a primary night event on June 7, 2016 in Brooklyn, New York after Hillary Clinton surpassed the number of delegates needed to become the democratic nominee. Justin Sullivan—Getty Images --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4425599/dnc-bill-clinton-speech-transcript-video/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4425599/dnc-bill-clinton-speech-transcript-video/"},"headline":"Read Bill Clinton's Speech at the Democratic Convention","datePublished":"2016-07-27T03:05:51.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-24T12:34:57.000Z","description":"'She is the best darn change maker I have ever known'","url":"https://time.com/4425599/dnc-bill-clinton-speech-transcript-video/","keywords":["Democratic National Convention","Hillary Clinton","2016 Election","Bill Clinton"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1de733982a896747/69889f99ab6d77d5966aaa6d/bill-clinton-dnc-ben-lowy.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Will Drabold","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/will-drabold/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1de733982a896747/69889f99ab6d77d5966aaa6d/bill-clinton-dnc-ben-lowy.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIMEPOL DNC","caption":"Former President Bill Clinton speaks about his wife, Hillary Clinton, at the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 26, 2016 in Philadelphia.","creditText":"Ben Lowy for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/democratic-national-convention/","name":"Democratic National Convention"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4425599/dnc-bill-clinton-speech-transcript-video/","name":"Read Bill Clinton's Speech at the Democratic Convention"}}]}] ```