Hillary Clinton has laid bare her disappointment at her election defeat to Donald Trump in her first public appearance since she lost a week ago, reports BBC. The Democratic candidate said she had wanted to “curl up with a good book and never leave the house again”. But in a speech at a children’s charity she urged the audience to fight for American values and “never give up.” Mrs Clinton won the popular vote but was beaten to the presidency in the all-important US electoral college.  “Now I will admit coming here tonight wasn’t the easiest thing for me,” she said as she was honoured by the Children’s Defense Fund. She continued: “I know many of you are deeply disappointed about the results of the election. I am, too, more than I can ever express. “I know this isn’t easy. I know that over the past week a lot of people have asked themselves whether America is the country we thought it was.
 “The divisions laid bare by this election run deep, but please listen to me when I say this. “America is worth it. Our children are worth it. Believe in our country, fight for our values and never, ever give up.” In her concession speech after her shock defeat last week, Mrs Clinton said rival Donald Trump must be given the chance to lead. Since then she has kept a low profile, although she was spotted while out walking. In a phone call leaked to US media she also blamed her loss on FBI director James Comey, who announced a new inquiry into her use of a private email server in the run up to the vote. There was little ceremony and no sign of security for the former presidential candidate who is known simply as “Hillary” in this circle of friends.
The audience were on their feet and chanting her name as she took to the podium. When she talked about her disappointment, murmurs of agreement spread through the room in waves. That murmur grew louder as she urged those listening not to lose heart - this was an emotional plea for action.
The event was entitled Beat the Odds, which offers hope for some of America’s most underprivileged children and celebrates their achievements.
But I spoke to one man who told me that he could offer little hope to the young African Americans he mentors in the wake of this election. Hillary Clinton used her voice tonight to try to help change that and dissuade others from feeling despondent. The candidate may be gone, and right now “Hillary” looks like she might run home and curl back up on the sofa, but there is still a spark left in the first woman who got this far in trying to reach the White House.
AFP adds: New York’s liberal mayor, Bill de Blasio, told Donald Trump on Wednesday he will do all he can to prevent the large-scale deportation of immigrants, saying many in the city are “fearful” of his presidency, reports AFP from New York.
After visiting Manhattan’s Trump Tower—where the billionaire president-elect is holed up assembling his cabinet—De Blasio said he told the Republican he would push back against his signature pledge to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, and defend the American tradition of welcoming foreigners.
“I reiterated to him that this city and so many cities around the country will do all we can to protect our residents and to make sure that families are not torn apart,” the Democrat told reporters.
De Blasio—along with the mayors of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and the US capital Washington—has declared his city a “sanctuary” for immigrants, vowing to protect the undocumented from deportation and extend public services regardless of their legal status.
Trump has vowed to deport or incarcerate up to three million undocumented immigrants with criminal records after he takes office on January 20. He has also pledged to end a program backed by President Barack Obama that shields from deportation people who arrived in the country as children.
De Blasio, a left-leaning Democrat who backed Trump’s rival Hillary Clinton for the White House, said his stance “flew in the face of all that was great about New York City, the ultimate city of immigrants.”
“The place that has succeeded because it was open for everyone, the place built of generation after generation of immigrants,” he said.
Following Trump’s election, de Blasio said the city would delete from its database the names of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who have received a city ID card, to stop the incoming administration from identifying or deporting them.
It was the latest in a string of confrontations between the two politicians.
Mayors ‘welcome the fight’ - During the campaign de Blasio described the Republican candidate as “dangerous” and unqualified to lead the country. Trump, in turn, has called de Blasio “the worst mayor” in the United States. However, de Blasio on Wednesday said their talk was “candid” and “respectful” and that he had stressed “that I would be open-minded as we continue substantive discussions but also vigilant.” After promising during his campaign to deport all of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, Trump said in an interview Sunday that he would instead focus on “the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers... out of our country” and work to “secure our border.”