Samantha Bee introduced her (as Hillary Rodham Beyoncé Clinton, it should be noted) to the crowd ahead of her interview with New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof. The audience cheered, screamed and laughed; pretty much everyone cried (seriously: everyone cried). Here are some of the most poignant moments from her talk, which you can watch in its entirety here:
1. On losing the election: “Misogyny certainly played a role. There is a real struggle between change that is welcomed and exciting to so many Americans, and change that is worrisome and threatening [to others]. Layer [over that] the first woman president—and some people, women included, had real problems [with that].”
2. On how things are going under the Trump administration so far:“I don’t understand the commitment to hurt so many people that this administration and this White House seems to be pursuing. There are so many examples in just the first 100 days. … Not just to Muslims, but all kinds of people that are saying, ‘Well, wait a minute–don’t you still have Lady Liberty in the New York Harbor? Aren’t we still the land of opportunity and freedom?”
3. On bullying:“Part of bullying is to crush your spirit, make you feel inadequate, make you doubt yourself. And I refuse to do that.”
4. On how’s she doing: “As a person, I’m OK. As a citizen, I’m pretty worried.”
5. On the continued failure of recent GOP health care bills:“I’ve listened to them discuss ‘repeal and replace’ for 7 years now. They had no clue what that meant. I don’t know if any of them read the bill [or] read the law. Healthcare is complicated. They don’t know what to do.”
6. And this: “The things that come out of some of these men’s mouths…like ‘Why do we have to cover maternity care?” Oh, I don’t know, maybe you were dropped by immaculate conception.”
7. On Putin: “People have asked me, ‘Why did he do that to you?’ I don’t think it’s too complicated. I think he had his desire to destabilize us and others. He’s not exactly fond of strong women, so you add that together, and that’s pretty much where it leads. Although he did shake hands with me.”
8. On her favorite meme of the internet:
Meanwhile, at today’s meeting on feline healthcare… pic.twitter.com/wApNyFS7jz— Justin Shanes (@justinshanes) March 24, 2017
9. On what the future holds for her:“I am looking at doing interesting things. I don’t think that will ever include running for office again, as interesting as I find that to be, because I think you can have a big influence. There are lots of ways to make difference.”
10. And lastly, this:“I’m going to spend my time persuading women to get into politics. We really need you.”
You heard the lady. Let’s get to it.
