Fight for our values
Says Clinton in her first public appearance since polls defeat; flurry of new names floated as Trump assembles cabinet
Defeated Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called on Wednesday for a renewed fight for a more-inclusive United States despite disappointment over an election loss that laid bare national divisions.
In her first public remarks since conceding to Republican Donald Trump last week, Clinton said that many Americans were asking whether his victory meant the United States was still the country they thought it was.
"The divisions laid bare by this election run deep, but please listen to me when I say this. America is worth it, our children are worth it," she said at a Children Defense Fund event honoring scholarship winners.
"Believe in our country, fight for our values and never, ever give up."
Although Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman called the nonprofit advocacy group's event "a love-in for Hillary Rodham Clinton," the former first lady said it had not been easy for her to attend.
"There have been times this past week when all I wanted to do was just to curl up with a good book or our dogs, and never leave the house again," said Clinton.
Clinton, a former secretary of state, won the popular vote but lost the crucial electoral college tally to Trump, a New York real estate magnate who has taken a hard line on immigration.
Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump was to meet with more candidates for top White House positions in New York, as a flurry of new names have emerged as potential cabinet picks.
One of the most unusual names floated is that of South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who according to CNN and MSNBC is under consideration for secretary of state and other posts.
Trump is expected to spend the day at his Manhattan headquarters, where he will meet a stream of potential new hires as well Henry Kissinger, now 93.
However, his appointment of the anti-establishment firebrand Stephen Bannon as his chief strategist, however, has rankled many Democrats. Bannon -- who played a central role in Trump's victorious campaign -- is on leave as chairman of the Breitbart website, which critics say is a haven for white supremacists. At least 169 House Democrats signed a letter demanding that Trump remove Bannon, saying his appointment "directly undermines your ability to unite the country."