PHILADELPHIA _ Hillary Clinton kicked off her general election campaign Friday in Philadelphia by comparing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to a king, while she argued that the historic nature of her candidacy showed the goodness and potential of America.
"Nobody who looked like me was thought to be possible to run for president" when the country was founded, Clinton told a few thousand supporters at Temple University a day after she became the first woman to accept the presidential nomination of a major political party in the United States.
"No one who looked like Barack Obama was thought to be possible. But, contrary to Donald Trump, I believe every time we knock down a barrier in America, it liberates everyone in America," she said to resounding applause.
The rally followed the four-day Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where her campaign highlighted support not just from party luminaries like President Barack Obama, but also a retired four-star general, lifelong Republicans disillusioned by Trump, family members of those lost to gun violence, and immigrants and Muslims who denounced Trump's rhetoric and policy proposals.
After the rally, Clinton continued a bus tour with vice presidential nominee Sen. Tim Kaine through Pennsylvania and Ohio, states that Obama carried twice but that Trump hopes to flip to the Republican side with his populist message.
Later Friday, Clinton and Kaine visited the K'nex factory in Hatfield, Pa., where interns had built Clinton's signature "H" out of the linking construction toys. The campaign said it picked the factory because the toys include a line targeted at girls, and teach concepts for careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Outside, a crowd of about 80 people stood in the sun for hours for a glimpse of the entourage. In the end, they settled for about 10 seconds of waving at the blocked bus windows and imagining Clinton waving back from inside.
Trump made a campaign stop this week in Scranton, Pa., where he vowed he'd "have jobs flowing in, believe me."
In a statement Friday, Trump's campaign blasted Clinton's "globalist agenda" and "radical amnesty plan," which it said would "take jobs, resources, and benefits from the most vulnerable citizens of the United States and give them to the citizens of other countries."
Trump also lashed out at his opponent on Twitter. "Crooked Hillary Clinton mentioned me 22 times in her very long and very boring speech" Thursday night, he wrote. "Many of her statements were lies and fabrications!"
Clinton, rejecting Trump's assertion that he "alone" can fix the nation's problems, recounted how the Founding Fathers established a democracy because "they didn't want one person, one man, to have all the power like a king."
She and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, along with Kaine and the Virginia senator's wife, Anne Holton, took the stage to Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." They stood in front of signs that promoted one of her general election themes, "Stronger Together."
Mayor James Kenney and other Pennsylvania Democrats such as Katie McGinty, who is running against U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, spoke before Clinton arrived.
"Philadelphia's a tough city," Kenney told the crowd, "and we need a tough president like Hillary Clinton."
He watched Clinton from the front row along with former Gov. Ed Rendell, whom Clinton thanked, along with Kenney, Sen. Bob Casey, and Rep. Robert Brady, for a well-executed convention.
"I'm so grateful to everyone in this city who pulled such a great convention together, who were so gracious, welcoming, and hospitable," Clinton said. "And I'm thrilled that so many Americans from everywhere got a chance to see Philadelphia."
Clinton supporters from around the region came to the city early Friday to see her in person. A line stretched down North Broad Street and wrapped around Cecil B. Moore Avenue before doors opened at 10 a.m.
Leslie Milner, a nurse from Buckingham, Pa., said she overslept her alarm Friday morning after staying up late all week to watch convention speeches on television.
She, her 16-year-old daughter, and her husband rushed to catch a train into the city and were standing on the floor of McGonigle Hall hours before Clinton was to appear.
"All my neighbors are Republican, and I say, 'You can't vote for (Trump),'" she said. "I honestly don't understand why the race is so close."
Bill Askoy, 17, of Upper Darby, stood in the crowd before the rally began as the gymnasium filled with people and music played in the background.
He said that even though he can't yet vote, he supports Clinton _ especially for her proposal to raise the minimum wage.
Askoy, who is Muslim, said he was offended by Trump's comments about Muslims. The GOP nominee has proposed banning Muslims from entering the country, at least temporarily, in response to terrorism.
"It was a little disgusting," Askoy said. "Muslims come here to be Americans."
Shelly Sullivan, 58, of Ardmore, Pa., said she was "looking forward to talking to people who are on the bubble" because they think Pennsylvania will vote safely Democratic.
Neighbors and friends, Sullivan said, have suggested they might vote for an independent candidate. Her message to them: "We need your vote."
"She's for everybody," added Sullivan, who works in sales and was wearing a blue shirt that read "Madame President."
"I want Democratic Supreme Court justices," Sullivan said.
Part of the reason people like Sullivan find their friends on the fence is that polling shows that many voters do not trust Clinton, who has endured and in some ways been defined by scandals over the last quarter-century.
Attuned to this fact, Kaine began to attest to Clinton's "trustworthiness and character" when he was interrupted by a supporter in the audience.
"We trust Hillary!" the man shouted, and the crowd roared.
