Shadowing Practice: Hillary Clinton Reveals Why She Believes Vladimir Putin Wanted Donald Trump in the White House | APT - Learn English Speaking with Video
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We have such a sense of ourselves as Americans, as freedom-loving people, and we would defend it to the last.
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I don't see that that's a universal.
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Well, I'm afraid you're right in terms of the acquiescence.
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And, you know, I was in the Senate very proudly representing New York for eight years.
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There are still people on the Republican side I served with there.
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I don't talk to them, but my former Democratic colleagues report to me.
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They go into the cloakroom.
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They're in the hallway.
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But aren't you sick about hearing about what they say in the cloakrooms?
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I am really sick of it.
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I'm very sick of it because they are betraying the kind of weakness that is, you know,
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undermining of a great country and our institutions because they won't stand up to them unless they're on their way out.
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Why not?
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Are these jobs so great that you can't?
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For some people, they are.
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For some people, it's simply staying in power, being able to feel like they are important.
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For some people, it's literal threats.
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You know, the only person I know who spoke publicly about this was Lisa Murkowski.
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And basically, if you are threatened the way some of these people are threatened and their families are threatened,
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and you think you can, you may be rationalizing, but you think, well, I can try to rein in more if I stay on the inside.
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So I can be against, but I can't be against too much.
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That's one thing.
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But the people who are in positions of great economic power, like the tech companies and other,
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you know, large businesses, have been so disappointing in the way that they have,
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you know, basically aligned themselves with Trump, Trump policies.
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And in large measure, I guess, because they think, quote, it's good for their business.
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And what I have said privately and publicly is you are making a grave mistake
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because you may think it's good for your business today, but somebody who offers a bigger bribe,
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because make no mistake, these transactional deals they're making are nothing but bribes.
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You support me or you don't get this contract.
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You do support me, you're going to get that contract.
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These are bribes.
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That is in the Constitution as an impeachable offense.
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And so part of what I see happening is men, and they're all men, basically convincing themselves they have to do this for the business,
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but what they're not appreciating is that this kind of unchecked,
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unaccountable power can turn and bite them just as easily.
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You saw it, you saw it in Russia.
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You saw the transition from the collapse of the Soviet Union.
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And you saw the oligarchs being formed, the privatization.
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But then when Putin came along, it was, I want 5%.
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No, I now want 25%.
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I want 50%.
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And that's why people say he's the richest man in the world, because he's basically...
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I must say, he loves you.
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I have never seen somebody speak so harshly of anyone as to watch Putin speaking about Hillary Clinton.
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Well, I wear it as a badge of honor, but it did help...
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You know, contrary to what you hear from Donald Trump, he did help Donald Trump win,
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and partly because he knew what kind of leader I would be compared to Donald, whom he knew would not.
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You have a question from the audience.
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Would you still defend the Democratic Party strategy of trying to capture the center
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when it has failed to repel Donald Trump two separate times?
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It feels as though the only thing Democrats agree on is being anti-Trump.
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Well, I think this year anti-Trump may work.
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So I'm not sure this year is the right time to try to answer that question.
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But also, if you look at where we have to win,
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the Electoral College is not our friend.
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And it certainly is not the Democratic Party's friend.
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And so when you are planning a national campaign, as opposed to a congressional or state-by-state Senate campaign,
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You have to try to figure out how you're going to win those independent voters, or you're not going to win.
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You're not going to win the electoral college.
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You can run up your margins.
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Remember, I beat them by nearly three million votes because I ran up my margins in New York and Illinois and California.
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It was great.
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So I won the popular vote and lost the election.
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And so when people say to me, you don't need to try to appeal.
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Well, go to Wisconsin, go to Michigan,
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go to Pennsylvania, and try to look at how Josh Shapiro wins or Gretchen Whitmer wins.
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They win by appealing broadly, not narrowly.
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And so it's frustrating, and I know it's frustrating
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because all of this is so self-evident to us about what kind of government we should have, what kind of leaders we should have,
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what kind of candidates we should elect.
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but it's a big country out there.
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I want to ask you two quick questions about the law, and this is a beautifully crafted one.
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On a scale of 1 to ten, how worried are you about being locked up?
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Well, it's not for lack of trying that I'm not,
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that they, you know, they continue to, you know, not only go after me, but go after all kinds of,
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you know, people that Trump considers his, quote, enemies.
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You know, I'm not worried about it if the law matters and if the facts matter.
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I have nothing to worry about.
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And what I've been slightly reassured about in the last couple
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of months is the way the courts are actually enforcing their orders.
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So the name is off the Kennedy Center.
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The, you know, $1.776 billion fund is enjoined.
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And so there is finally the pushback.
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Our big problem has been the Supreme Court.
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And the Supreme Court has enabled and approved so much of what he's done on the so-called shadow docket.
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And that is what has given him the permission to go forward with a lot of the things
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that he has pursued without there being yet any kind of final adjudication.
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So when I think about the law, personally, you know, I'm not that worried for myself,
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but I do see him continuing to unleash his private law firm, which used to be called the Justice Department,
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against people and forcing them to be, you know, investigated, spend money,
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everything to just put them, you know, at risk.
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So, yeah, I do think that he is going to continue to do that, and we, unfortunately, are going to have to continue to fight back.
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Has John Roberts, in particular, as chief justice, failed the law?
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I voted against him as a senator.
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I met with him.
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I voted against Alito, and Alito was a much more obvious movement conservative, a results-oriented judge.
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and so I had no doubt about what he would do and I gave a speech on the floor.
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John Roberts though as I looked into his past
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when he clerked for Justice Rehnquist he wrote a memo about reversing the Voting Rights Act back in the 1980s.
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So he has been a known commodity to some of us who paid attention for some time,
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but he comes across as more affable,
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you know, a kind of country club person that you would have a nice dinner with.
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But make no mistake about it, he led the charge against the Voting Rights Act.
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He led the charge against campaign finance reform.
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He has been on the side of the, you know, sort of federalist agenda since he was a young lawyer,
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a young law clerk.
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And this is his court.
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And I think they have concluded, led by him, you know,
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the majority certainly, that their job is to turn the clock back as much as possible on the 20th century.
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You know, they believe in, you know, almost the height of corporate power.
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They believe in, you know,
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the role that corporations should play in our politics and basically undisclosed, unlimited money.
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plus then things like the Voting Rights Act, which they view as, in the way they describe it,
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unnecessary in a, quote, colorblind society that's gotten beyond race.
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I don't know where they live.
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I don't know who they talk to.
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I don't understand it.
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But that is their stated view.
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But it's really, you know, I went to law school with Clarence Thomas. And so.
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Did you know him?
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What?
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Did you know him?
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Of course I did.
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And what was he like then?
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He was kind of a guy with a grudge.
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He had a grudge.
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Did you ever figure out what the grudge was?
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I think he, again, I can't tell you all the reasons why I think that, because I don't know enough about him.
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But I think he had a view that he was being treated unfairly in life.
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And, you know, when he got out of law school, he couldn't really get a great job.
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And I just feel like for some reason, you know, he began to think that life would have been better.
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I don't know how he believes this without all of these laws and regulations.
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And so he is what he is.
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And he just gave a speech about, for the 250th commemoration, I think at Texas or somewhere, he gave a speech basically saying that,
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you know, the progressive movement had destroyed America and it needed to be reined in.
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Secretary Clinton, thank you so much.
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Thank you, David.
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Thank you.
Why practice speaking with this video?
Engaging with the video featuring Hillary Clinton offers English learners a unique opportunity to practice speaking in a rich political context. The discussion revolves around significant themes such as power dynamics, accountability, and personal motivations—elements that are invaluable for understanding complex conversational English. By shadowing Hillary Clinton's speech, learners can improve their fluency and gain confidence in discussing current affairs. Utilizing this video as a speaking exercise allows you to mimic Clinton's clear articulation and assertive tone, which can enhance your conversational skills and overall command of the English language.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Through this video, several key grammatical structures and expressions emerge that learners can adopt:
- Conditional Clauses: “If you are threatened…” These structures are essential for expressing hypothetical situations, which are common in discussions about political consequences.
- Direct Speech: “I want 5%. No, I now want 25%.” This use of direct speech makes dramatic points clearer and can be a helpful technique for learners looking to express opinions forcefully.
- Passive Voice: “...have been so disappointing...” Understanding passive constructions is critical for discussing actions taken by others without placing direct blame, often used in political discourse.
- Comparative Statements: “...compared to Donald, whom he knew would not.” Using comparatives effectively enables learners to make comparisons that are vital in persuasive speech.
- Expressions of Emphasis: “Make no mistake, these transactional deals…” This phrase helps underline significant points and is useful for learners wishing to enhance their persuasive speaking abilities.
Common Pronunciation Traps
When practicing with this video, learners should pay attention to certain pronunciation nuances:
- “Acquiescence” - This term can be particularly challenging due to its length and vowel sounds. Practice breaking it down into syllables: aq-qui-es-cence.
- “Transitional” - Listen carefully to how the speaker articulates this word, focusing on the transition between syllables to improve clarity in speech.
- “Oligarchs” - This word may pose a challenge with its combination of consonants. Ensure to practice emphasizing the “ol” and “arch” sounds distinctly.
- Accent Variation - Pay attention to how Clinton's New York accent influences her speech, notably in the way she stresses certain syllables. Mimicking this can enhance your own accent and pronunciation.
By actively engaging in shadow speak using this video, you can significantly improve your English pronunciation and conversational skills, making it one of the best ways to learn English with YouTube resources effectively.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.