© 2026 ABC News

Following a pre-program that included remarks by a DREAMER and a performance by the pop band Echosmith, Clinton came on stage, as the song \"Brave\" by Sara Barellis blasted overhead.

In remarks that focused on her late mother, Dorothy Rodham, Clinton laid out the rationale for her candidacy as someone who will be a \"champion\" and fighter for everyday Americans.

\"My mother taught me that everybody needs a chance and a champion,\" Clinton said. \"She knew what it was like not to have either one.\"

Clinton's mother, who passed away in 2011, lived a harsh childhood with trauma and abandonment, and she said her mother's story taught her valuable lessons about resilience and has encouraged her to run for president.

\"I think you know by now that I have been called many things by many people. Quitter is not one of them,\" Clinton said. \"Like so much else in my life, I got this from my mother. When I was a girl she never let me back down from a bully or barrier.\"

The rally, which was open to the public, was her largest event yet as a candidate and marked the end of the \"ramp-up\" phase of her campaign. The turnout was large, but the overflow area set up by the campaign was relatively empty.

And @HillaryClinton is on stage. Venue packed; overflow area empty (campaign says never intended to fill overflow) pic.twitter.com/oQRJXgsXb5

— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) June 13, 2015

Clinton's 9-month-old granddaughter, Charlotte, did not attend the rally, however she did not go without mention.

\"Well, I may not be the youngest candidate in this race, but I will be the youngest woman president in the history of the United States,\" Clinton said, to applause. \"And the first grandmother as well,\" she added.

During her remarks, Clinton also re-introduced her vision for the country and touched generally on the policy issues -- particularly domestic ones, such as voting rights, equal pay for women, climate change, LGBT equality and affordable college -- that she has said she will make a priority of her campaign. She also laid out what aides say would be a choice between her ideas and those of the Republican presidential hopefuls.

\"Now there may be some new voices in the presidential Republican choir,\" Clinton said, with a smirk. \"But they're all singing the same song. It's called 'Yesterday.' You know the one.\"

The Republican National Committee, which has already spent roughly a quarter of a million dollars on its Stop Hillary campaign, and was handing out sunglasses that read \"#Shady\" at the rally today, has called Clinton's remarks hypocritical.

\"Hillary Clinton's announcement speech was chock full of hypocritical attacks, partisan rhetoric and ideas from the past that have led to a sluggish economy leaving too many Americans behind. Next year, Americans will reject the failed policies of the past and elect a Republican president,\" RNC Press Secretary Allison Moore said in response.

The @GOP will be handing out these shades at Hillary Clinton's rally tomorrow pic.twitter.com/mdcljqRyxk

— Liz Kreutz (@ABCLiz) June 12, 2015

Over the past two months, Clinton's campaign events have consisted of small, intimate roundtables. During this next phase, things are expected to get bigger. Clinton will start holding more large rallies and town halls.

Following the rally, Clinton planned to make back-to-back visits to Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. She is expected to use many of the same talking points and themes, including her mother's story, with her on the road.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Politics/hillary-clinton-official-campaign-kickoff-shes-running-americans/story?id=31745394","legacySlug":"/news/story/hillary-clinton-official-campaign-kickoff-shes-running-americans-31745394","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"18:00","publishDate":"06-13-2015","updatedTime":"14:51","updatedDate":"06-14-2015","socialImage":{"alt":"Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton delivers her \"official launch speech\" at a campaign kick off rally in Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island in New York City, June 13, 2015. ","credit":"Brendan McDermid/Reuters","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/RT_hillary_clinton_jt_150613_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"6/13/2015 18:00:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":31745394,"headline":"Hillary Clinton Says She's Running 'for All Americans'","mediaAssetTitle":"KREUTZ_clinton_speech_150613","description":"Former first lady officially kicks off campaign in New York City.","duration":"3:04","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/i/abcnews/2015/06/150614_gma_vega_708_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["31737370","31755091","31746044"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"June 13, 2015","headline":"Hillary Clinton Gets Ready to Make Her Pitch","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/hillary-clinton-ready-make-pitch-1st-official-campaign-31737370","id":31737370,"image":{"alt":"Hillary Clinton Gets Ready to Make Her Pitch","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/AP_hillary_clinton_jt_150426_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Julie Jacobson/AP Photo","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"June 14, 2015","headline":"Hillary Clinton Rallies Supporters as Jeb Bush Prepares Official Announcement","section":"news","slug":"/video/31755091","id":31755091,"image":{"alt":"Hillary Clinton Rallies Supporters as Jeb Bush Prepares Official Announcement","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/150614_gma_vega_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"video","date":"June 13, 2015","headline":"Hillary Clinton: 'I Will Be the Youngest Woman President'","section":"news","slug":"/video/31746044","id":31746044,"image":{"alt":"Hillary Clinton: 'I Will Be the Youngest Woman President'","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/150613_pol_hillary_bits_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Hillary Clinton Says She's Running 'for All Americans'","description":"Former first lady officially kicks off campaign in New York City.","duration":"3:04","uploadDate":"06-13-2015","publication":"06-13-2015","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/i/abcnews/2015/06/150614_gma_vega_708_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/i/abcnews/2015/06/150614_gma_vega_708_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/hillary-clinton-official-campaign-kickoff-shes-running-americans-31745394"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Hillary Clinton Says She's Running 'for All Americans'","pubTime":"14:00","pubDate":"06-13-2015","modTime":"10:51","modDate":"06-14-2015","taxonomyTags":"none","id":31745394,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Hillary Clinton Says She's Running 'for All Americans'","mediaAssetTitle":"KREUTZ_clinton_speech_150613","videoId":31745394,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/hillary-clinton-official-campaign-kickoff-shes-running-americans-31745394"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/31745394","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/31745394","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};