WASHINGTON – Hillary Clinton on Wednesday injected a guerrilla policy at the funeral of diplomat Madeleine Albright, the nation’s first female secretary of state, saying “fascism” could dominate the United States if “dictators and demagogues” did not stop it. a blow to former President Donald Trump and his allies.
Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2016, lost to Trump in shocking disappointment, and her attacks have generally been hailed by Republicans, who describe her as a vicious and vicious enemy.
“She knew better than most and warned us in her book on fascism that yes, it can happen here, and time and courage are essential,” Clinton said in a eulogy at Washington National Cathedral.
“If Madeleine were here with us today, she would also remind us that this must be a season of action,” Clinton continued.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks at the funeral of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on April 27, 2022. Andrew Harnick / AP
“We must listen to the wisdom of her life and the cause of her public service, to face dictators and demagogues – from the battlefields of Ukraine to the halls of our own capital; we defend democracy at home as vigorously as we do abroad; to meet the ideals of a country that welcomed an 11-year-old refugee sailing in New York Harbor on a ship called SS America and made her secretary of state.
The 75-year-old Trump is openly annoyed with a possible candidacy in 2024 after losing the 2020 election to President Biden. Clinton’s mention of the capital’s halls was apparently a reference to last year’s siege of the Capitol by Trump supporters who violated Biden’s credentials.
Biden, 79, says he intends to run again, but has a low approval rating, especially due to rising inflation, which peaked at 8.5 percent in four decades in March.
A Harvard CAPS-Harris poll released on March 29 found that Trump would beat Biden by 6 percentage points in a rematch. Trump will overtake Vice President Kamala Harris by an even bigger margin of 11 points, according to the study.
Clinton, 74, is younger than both Biden and Trump and could be a dark horse candidate for the Democrats in 2024.
Former President Donald Trump has hinted at running for president in 2024 Joe Majorana / AP
Albright died of cancer last month at the age of 84, sparking condolences around the world, which also welcomed her support for democracy and human rights. In addition to the current and former presidents, at least three of her successors as secretary of state attended the service, 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 on the front bench, but made no remarks.
Clinton, like his wife, used the funeral of the former UN ambassador and secretary of state to discuss domestic policy.
“This is what she would like to say today: I had a good life. I was happy. I was so blessed in my family, work and friends. But freedom, democracy and the rule of law are not established forever just because we have survived for more than 200 years, “he said.
Albright died of cancer at the age of 84. BRENDAN SMIALOVSKI / AFP via Getty Images
“Now think about the world you want for your grandchildren and work for it,” Bill Clinton continued. “We love you, Madeleine. Miss you. But I pray to God that we never stop listening to you. Just sit on our shoulder and bite us to death until we do the right thing. “
Biden focused on his professional achievements after immigrating to the United States as a child from Czechoslovakia after World War II.
“Her story was the story of America. “She loved talking about America as an indispensable nation,” Biden said.
“For her, this phrase has never been an expression of arrogance. It was a matter of gratitude for all that this country has done for it. It was a testament to her belief in the endless possibilities that only America can 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 eyes during the funeral of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Andrew Harnick / AP
The crowd that gathered at Washington National Cathedral to honor Albright included current Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and former Secretaries Condoleezza Rice and John Kerry were to attend. Other senior executives expected to attend included Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, CIA Director Bill Burns, Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Millie and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. The members of the VIP audience were disguised as requested by the Albright family.
Foreign dignitaries invited to the funeral included the presidents of Georgia and Kosovo and senior officials from Colombia, Bosnia and the Czech Republic.
Albright was born in what was then Czechoslovakia, but her family fled twice, first from the Nazis and then from Soviet rule. They ended up in the United States, where she studied at Wellesley College and rose to 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 foreign birth, Albright was almost universally admired for breaking the glass ceiling, even by her political detractors.
As a Czech refugee who saw the horrors of both Nazi Germany and the Iron Curtain, she was not a dove. She played a leading role in urging the Clinton administration to join the military in the Kosovo conflict. “My thinking is Munich,” she often said, referring to the German city where Western allies abandoned her homeland to the Nazis.
President Biden gives a eulogy at Madeleine Albright’s funeral.MICHAEL REYNOLDS / EPA
As Secretary of State, Albright played a key role in persuading Clinton to go to war against Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic over his treatment of Kosovo Albanians in 1999. As UN ambassador, she advocated a tough US foreign policy, especially in the case of Milosevic’s treatment. of Bosnia. NATO’s intervention in Kosovo was ultimately called the Madeleine War.
She also took a firm stand on Cuba, famously saying at the United Nations that the Cuban downing of a civilian plane in 1996 was not “cojones” but rather “cowardice”.
Former President Clinton recalled the moment in his homage, recalling that Albright was criticized at the time for being a sharp prickly “undiplomatic” and “unfeminine.” He absolutely loved him.
“I called her and said … ‘This is the best line developed and provided by anyone in this administration,'” Clinton said.
In 2012, Obama awarded Albright the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, saying her life was an inspiration to all Americans.
Born Marie Jana Korbel in Prague on May 15, 1937, she was the daughter of diplomat Joseph Korbel. The family is Jewish and converted to Roman Catholicism when she was 5. Three of her Jewish grandparents died in concentration camps.
With the Associated Press
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