Clinton, the Democratic candidate for the 2016 presidential election, lost to Trump in a shocking upheaval, and her attacks are generally hailed by Republicans who describe her as a bitter and key enemy.
“She knew better than most and warned us in her book about fascism that yes, it can happen here and that time and courage are essential,” Clinton said in a eulogy at Washington National Cathedral.
“If Madeleine was here with us today, she would also be reminding us that this must be an action season,” Clinton continued.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during the funeral of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on April 27, 2022. Andrew Harnik / AP
“We must pay attention to the wisdom of her life and the cause of her public service, to stand up to dictators and demagogues – from the battlefields of Ukraine to the halls of the capital itself. defend democracy at home with the same vigor as we do abroad. meet the ideals of the country that welcomed an 11-year-old refugee sailing in the port of New York on a ship called SS America and made her Secretary of State.
Trump, 75, openly teases a possible 2024 candidacy after losing the 2020 election to President Biden. Clinton’s report on the halls of the capital was an obvious reference to last year ‘s siege of the Capitol by Trump supporters who cut short the certification of Biden’ s victory.
Biden, 79, says he intends to run again, but his acceptance rate is low, especially due to the rapid rise in inflation, which reached a four-decade high of 8.5% in March.
A Harvard CAPS-Harris poll released on March 29 showed that Trump would beat Biden by 6 percentage points in a rematch. Trump will defeat Vice President Kamala Harris with an even bigger difference of 11 points, according to the poll.
Clinton, 74, is younger than both Biden and Trump and could be the Democratic nominee for 2024 with the dark horses.
Former President Donald Trump hints at a 2024 presidential candidacy. Joe Maiorana / AP
Albright died of cancer last month at the age of 84, sparking an outpouring of condolences from around the world who also hailed her support for democracy and human rights. In addition to the current and former presidents, the operation was attended by at least three of her successors as foreign minister along with other current and former cabinet members, foreign diplomats, lawmakers and a number of others who knew her.
President Biden and former President Bill Clinton also spoke at Albright’s funeral. Former President Barack Obama attended the event and sat next to Biden in the front yard, but made no comment.
Clinton, like his wife, used the funeral of the former UN ambassador and secretary of state to discuss domestic politics.
“This is what I would like to say today: I had a good life. I was happy. I was so blessed in my family, at work and in my friends. “But freedom and democracy and the rule of law are not guaranteed permanently just because we have survived for more than 200 years.”
Albright died of cancer at the age of 84. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images
“Now think of the world you want for your grandchildren and work for them,” Bill Clinton continued. “We love you, Madeleine. We miss you. But I pray to God that we never stop listening to you. “Just sit on our shoulder and he moaned to us until we did the right thing.”
Biden focused on her career achievements after immigrating to the United States as a child from Czechoslovakia after World War II.
“Her story was the story of America. “She liked to talk about America as a necessary nation.”
“For her, the phrase was never a statement of arrogance. It was for gratitude for all this country that it was made possible. “It was a testament to her belief in the endless possibilities that only America could help unlock around the world and her true understanding of what American power could achieve when united and motivated by enduring American values.”
President Joe Biden wipes his eye during the funeral of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Andrew Harnick / AP
Crowds gathered at Washington National Cathedral to honor Albright, including incumbent Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and former secretaries Condoleezza Rice and John Kerry were to attend. Other top current officials expected to attend were Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, CIA Director Bill Burns, Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Millie and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Members of the VIP audience were wearing masks, as requested by Albright’s family.
Foreign officials invited to the funeral were the presidents of Georgia and Kosovo, as well as senior officials from Colombia, Bosnia and the Czech Republic.
Albright was born in what was then Czechoslovakia, but her family escaped twice, first from the Nazis and then from Soviet rule. She came to the United States, where she studied at Wellesley College and rose through the ranks of the Democratic Party’s foreign policy circles to become an ambassador to the United Nations. Bill Clinton elected her Secretary of State in 1996 for his second term.
Although she was never in line for the presidency because of her birth abroad, Albright was almost universally admired for breaking a glass roof, even by her political critics.
As a Czech refugee who saw the horrors of both Nazi Germany and the Iron Curtain, he was not a dove. He played a leading role in pushing for the Clinton administration to be militarily involved in the conflict in Kosovo. “My mentality is Munich,” she often said, referring to the German city where her Western allies fled to the Nazis.
President Biden praises Madeleine Albright’s funeral.MICHAEL REYNOLDS / EPA
As Secretary of State, Albright played a key role in persuading Clinton to fight Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic over his treatment of Kosovo Albanians in 1999. Milosevic’s treatment of Bosnia. NATO’s intervention in Kosovo was eventually dubbed “The Madeleine War”.
He also took a hard line on Cuba, famously telling the United Nations that the downing of a civilian plane in 1996 in Cuba was not a “coup” but rather a “cowardice”.
Former President Clinton recalled the moment in his tribute, remembering that Albright was criticized at the time for the sharp acne that was “undiplomatic” and “unknown.” She absolutely loved it.
“I called her and told her, ‘This is the best line that has been developed and delivered by anyone in this administration,’” Clinton said.
In 2012, Obama awarded Albright the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest political distinction, saying her life was an inspiration to all Americans.
Born Marie Jana Korbel in Prague on May 15, 1937, she was the daughter of a diplomat, Joseph Korbel. The family was Jewish and converted to Roman Catholicism when he was 5 years old. Three of her Jewish grandparents died in concentration camps.
With the Associated Press
