--- description: Hillary Clinton conceded defeat in the 2016 presidential election on Wednesday morning. Read the transcript of her concession speech title: Read Hillary Clinton's Concession Speech for the 2016 Election image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltff8178452e049236/6988add5a988ca2c756ba192/hillary-clinton-concession-transcript.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Read Hillary Clinton's Concession Speech for the 2016 Presidential Election  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 9, 2016 5:28 PM CUT  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, accompanied by her husband former President Bill Clinton, concedes the presidential election at the New Yorker Hotel on Nov. 9, 2016 in New York City. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, accompanied by her husband former President Bill Clinton, concedes the presidential election at the New Yorker Hotel on Nov. 9, 2016 in New York City.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 9, 2016 5:28 PM CUT Hillary Clinton [conceded defeat](http://time.com/4564142/hillary-clinton-gender/ "undefined") in the [2016 presidential election](http://time.com/4563685/donald-trump-wins/?xid=homepage "undefined") on Wednesday morning, calling on her supporters to give Donald Trump “an open mind and the chance to lead.” A day after her [supporters gathered beneath a glass ceiling](http://fortune.com/2016/11/09/hillary-clinton-supporters-donald-trump-election-win/?iid=leftrail "undefined") at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, she addressed a smaller crowd of staff and supporters in a ballroom at the New Yorker Hotel. Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta [appeared without Clinton](http://fortune.com/2016/11/09/us-presidential-election-results-2016-hillary-clinton/ "undefined") at her election night rally, announcing that she would wait to speak until all votes were counted. After being introduced by her running mate Tim Kaine, she voiced gratitude and hope for the future. She appeared to choke up as she addressed women, in particular, nodding to the historic nature of her candidacy. “I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion,” she said. “And to all the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams.” Read her full remarks here: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4564480/read-hillary-clintons-concession-speech-full-transcript/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4564480/read-hillary-clintons-concession-speech-full-transcript/"},"headline":"Read Hillary Clinton's Concession Speech for the 2016 Presidential Election","datePublished":"2016-11-09T17:28:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:43:29.053Z","description":"\"This is painful and it will be for a long time\"","url":"https://time.com/4564480/read-hillary-clintons-concession-speech-full-transcript/","keywords":["Hillary Clinton","2016 Election topic","Donald Trump","transcript","transcripts"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltff8178452e049236/6988add5a988ca2c756ba192/hillary-clinton-concession-transcript.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltff8178452e049236/6988add5a988ca2c756ba192/hillary-clinton-concession-transcript.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hillary Clinton Makes A Statement After Loss In Presidential Election","caption":"Hillary Clinton Makes A Statement After Loss In Presidential Election","creditText":"Justin Sullivan/Getty Images","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":"https://time.com/4564480/read-hillary-clintons-concession-speech-full-transcript/","name":"Read Hillary Clinton's Concession Speech for the 2016 Presidential Election"}}]}] ```