Hillary Clinton shares victory speech she would've given had she won in 2016

Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday shared excerpts from the victory speech she planned to read had she won the 2016 presidential election.

She read parts of the speech for a MasterClass lesson, which was previewed on NBC's Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist. Her full interview on the show is expected to air Sunday.

"I've never shared this with anybody. I've never read it out loud. But it helps to encapsulate who I am, what I believe in and what my hopes were for the kind of country that I want for my grandchildren and that I want for the world," she said.

While Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, won the 2016 popular vote over real estate mogul Donald Trump 48.3% to 46.2%, she lost the Electoral College, 227 votes to 304. Trump was elected the 45th president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016 -- the first to have never held an elected office or serve in the military.

But had she won, Clinton, former first lady and U.S. senator, planned to say the following:

"My fellow Americans, today you sent a message to the whole world: Our values endure, our democracy stands strong and our motto remains 'e pluribus unum,' out of many, one.

"You will not be defined only by our differences. We will not be an 'us versus them' country. The American dream is big enough for everyone.

"Fundamentally, this election challenged us to decide what it means to be an American in the 21st century, and by reaching for unity, decency and what President Lincoln called the better angels of our nature, we met that challenge. ...

"Today, with your children on your shoulders, neighbors at your side, friends old and new standing as one, you renewed our democracy. And because of the honor you have given me, you changed its face forever."

Clinton became emotional while speaking of her mother, Dorothy Howell Rodham, who died in 2011.

"This summer, a writer asked me if I could go anywhere back in time and tell anyone in history about this milestone, who would it be? And the answer was easy. My mother, Dorothy.

"You may have heard me talk about her difficult childhood. She was abandoned by her parents when she was just 8 years old. They put her on a train to California where she was mistreated by her parents and ended up out on her own, working as a housemaid.

"Yet she still found a way to offer me the boundless love and support she never received herself. She taught me the words of our Methodist faith: 'Do all the good you can for all the people you can in all the ways you can for as long as you ever can.

"I think about my mother every day. Sometimes I think about her on that train. I wish I could walk down the aisle. ...

"I dream of going up to her, and sitting down next to her, taking her into my arms, and saying, 'Look at me. Listen to me. You will survive. You will have a good family of your own. And three children. And as hard as it might be to imagine, your daughter will grow up and become the president of the United States.

"I am sure of this as anything I have ever known: America is the greatest country in the world. And from tonight going forward, together, we will make America even greater than it has ever been, for each and every one of us. Thank you, God bless you and may God bless America."