On The Road With Hillary Clinton

5a.m, media calls, black coffee and FaceTime with her granddaughter. As election day looms, what does life look like for the world’s most powerful woman? Kim Ghattas goes on the campaign trail.

- Kim Ghattas

Hillary Clinton walks on stage in a hangar in Brooklyn decked with American flags to the sound of Sara Bareilles’ Brave. She looks out over the jubilant crowd chanting, “Hillary, Hillary” and appears triumphant. There have been many similar rallies sprinkled along the long road of election season in the United States, but this time the energy is different. It’s primary results night, and she’s chosen to wear white. Clinton seems almost overwhelmed as she paces the stage for a few moments appearing to take it all in, waving to supporters and occasionally bringing her hands to her heart, causing the crowd’s chants to grow.

As a journalist who has been on the road many times with Clinton, I can see the swell of emotions on her face – a woman who is so often criticised for being cold and distant. I watch as she nervously swallows several times, closes her eyes for a second and exhales before throwing her arms up with a smile. The crowd goes wild.

It’s been a long journey for the 68-year-old. The 2016 primary race was tougher and longer than Clinton, her aides, supporters or any of the reporters following her had expected – after all, nothing that this trailblazing woman does ever comes easy. But eight years after trying for the first time, Clinton has finally become the first female presidential nominee of a major political party in a country where women hold less than one fifth of seats in Congress. Quite a landmark.