Hillary Rodham Clinton
Former secretary of state, senator, and first lady
In her 2018 Yale Class Day address, Hillary Clinton urged graduates to draw on resilience as they enter what she called one of the most tumultuous times in American history. She reflected on her own ties to Yale and her 2016 election loss, argued that the country needs 'radical empathy' and 'democratic resilience' to heal divisions, and called on graduates to defend truth, facts, and a free press while staying civically engaged. She expressed optimism rooted in Americans' toughness, rising numbers of women in politics, and growing willingness to speak out.
“everyone gets knocked down what matters is whether you get back up and keep going”
Key moments
- 01 Praising the Class of 2018's activism, including the March of Resilience and renaming of residential colleges
- 02 Joking about wearing a Russian hat as a jab at President Trump
- 03 Quoting Dickens to describe America as both the best and worst of times
- 04 Calling for 'radical empathy' and defense of truth, facts, and democratic institutions
- 05 Citing reasons for hope including more women winning elections and people speaking out against harassment
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Hillary Rodham Clinton at Yale, 2018
A Class Day address about resilience, radical empathy, civic courage, truth, democracy, and battle-hardened hope.
Speech arc
- 01Woolsey Hall
Opening move
- 02Yale Law alumna
Speech beat
- 03Resilience
Speech beat
- 04Radical empathy
Speech beat
- 05Truth
Speech beat
- 06Free press
Speech beat
- 07Women rising
Speech beat
- 08Keep fighting
Final charge
Setting: A storm moves Class Day indoors
Thunderstorm forecasts shift the Class of 2018 into Woolsey Hall, where Clinton turns disruption into a frame for resilience and public responsibility.
Room
The ceremony gathers graduates, families, prizes, hats, and Class Day traditions inside Woolsey Hall.
Return
A Yale Law graduate comes back as a former first lady, senator, secretary of state, and presidential candidate.
Class
She names the class as already tested by campus debates, activism, and institutional change.
Thunderstorm forecasts shift the Class of 2018 into Woolsey Hall, where Clinton turns disruption into a frame for resilience and public responsibility.
Resilience: Getting knocked down is not the end
Clinton links personal failure, the 2016 election, and the graduates future mistakes to the discipline of getting back up and continuing the work.
Loss
Election grief becomes evidence that even prepared people can be stunned, hurt, and forced to learn.
Practice
Resilience is treated as a repeated civic habit, not a heroic mood that appears once.
Class
Student courage in the March of Resilience becomes a campus-scale example of persistence.
Clinton links personal failure, the 2016 election, and the graduates future mistakes to the discipline of getting back up and continuing the work.
Democracy: Defend truth when reason is under attack
The address moves from personal recovery to democratic repair, warning that facts, institutions, free press, and public service need active defense.
Facts
Truth and evidence are presented as civic infrastructure that should outlast partisan conflict.
Press
Supporting serious journalism becomes one practical way to resist manufactured unreality.
Vote
Democratic resilience is made concrete through participation in every election, not only the largest ones.
The address moves from personal recovery to democratic repair, warning that facts, institutions, free press, and public service need active defense.
• Key takeaways •
Resilience is practiced
Connects to resilience.
Truth needs defenders
Connects to democracy.
Empathy can be radical
Connects to empathy.
Hope can be battle-hardened
Connects to truth.
Citizenship asks for pressure
Connects to civic engagement.
Closing charge
Clinton closes with battle-hardened hope: reach across divides, stay vigilant, and keep acting even when progress is difficult to see.
Keep up the pressure without losing empathy
Empathy
Radical empathy asks graduates to see across race, class, politics, and fear without surrendering conviction.
Women
Women running, winning, and speaking out become signs that pressure can change public life.
Faith
The final charge is civic endurance: keep fighting, keep voting, and keep faith with one another.
Clinton closes with battle-hardened hope: reach across divides, stay vigilant, and keep acting even when progress is difficult to see.
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Transcript
No official full transcript has been located yet. A video of the address is available above.
Machine transcript available for archive analysis; it is unverified and may contain transcription errors.
Provenance
Verified from official archive; targeted event-level link verified
Category: Politics
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