Hillary finally entered. When she raised her arms, the cheers turned very loud. Everybody understood that she had clinched the Democratic nomination.
Hillary acknowledging applause, Brooklyn, New York, 7 June 2016 (Photo by Enrique Shore)
News-Decoder correspondent Enrique Shore covered Hillary Clinton’s rally in Brooklyn, New York, on Tuesday when she claimed victory in the race against Bernie Sanders to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for the U.S. presidential election in November.
He took photographs and sent us an account of the evening with the politician who is all but assured of being the first woman to be nominated for the presidency by a major political party.
The atmosphere at the Brooklyn Navy Yard was festive because everybody expected Hillary to claim victory in her fight for her party’s nomination.
Lots of press started to arrive very early to grab a good spot in the same venue where Clinton and Sanders held a debate last April. Security was tight, but nobody seemed to mind waiting in long lines to pass through metal detectors and airport-type security checks.
A giant TV screen displayed the first results from the New Jersey primary, and the crowd cheered as it was clear that Hillary had a very good election there, securing the delegates she needed to clinch the Democratic nomination even before the much larger count from California. Various huge U.S. flags adorned the central stage that awaited Hillary.
Then came news that Bernie Sanders had said he would continue to campaign until the Democratic Convention in late July, and the public booed. Every time the screen showed some news broadcast, there was a reaction. Soon it was the turn of Republican candidate Donald Trump, who was holding a press conference from his golf club in Westchester. There was no sound from the screen, but the boos got much louder.
By that time the place was already very crowded. There was a group of supporters holding letters that formed the word “HISTORY,” with the letter “H” written as it is in Hillary’s campaign logo. Others were holding signs reading “Love Trumps Hate,” “Madame President” and “Caution: Shattered Glass.” There was a small one in Spanish: “Estamos con Ella” (We are with Her).
Finally the lights went off, and a documentary video came on underlining the fact that Hillary Clinton would be the first female president, with vintage footage of women’s rights struggles, sprinkled with words like “equality” and “human rights.”
After the national anthem, Hillary finally entered the auditorium to the joy of supporters in the first rows who stretched out to greet her. There was a long standing ovation. When she raised her arms, the cheers turned very loud. Everybody understood that she had clinched the Democratic nomination.
Her speech was short and conciliatory. She started by thanking Sanders, saying their “vigorous debate” had been “very good for the Democratic Party and America”. In doing so, Hillary was tendering her hand to Sanders supporters, calling for them to unite with her against Donald Trump.
Enrique Shore is a News Decoder correspondent, photographer and pictures editor with three decades experience covering World Cups, Olympics, presidential elections, summits and the first Gulf War. He was Reuters chief photographer for Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, then based in Madrid in charge of the Iberian peninsula. He later looked after media clients in Spain and Portugal. He is currently an independent photographer, editor and consultant based in New York.