Hillary Clinton rules out 2020 rematch with Donald Trump

The former Democratic presidential candidate said she would continue to stay active in politics

(FILES) In this file photo taken on March 31, 2017 former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during an awards ceremony for the Georgetown Institute for Women at Georgetown University on March 31, 2017 in Washington, DC. Hillary Clinton has for the first time ruled out running for president in 2020. "I'm not running, but I'm going to keep on working and speaking and standing up for what I believe," Clinton said March 4, 2019, in an interview with News 12, a local TV channel in New York. Clinton was the frontrunner in 2016 but ended up losing to Donald Trump. / AFP / Brendan Smialowski
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Democratic 2016 presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, ruled out a rematch against Donald Trump in the next presidential election on Monday.

But Ms Clinton promised she would remain in US politics, criticising the Trump administration and helping her party retake the White House in 2020.

“I’m not running,” Ms Clinton told News 12, a New York City television station. “But I’m going to keep on working and speaking and standing up for what I believe.”

Since losing the 2016 election, Ms Clinton has been a vocal critic of the president and supported progressive activists opposing the Trump Administration.

It would have been Ms Clinton's third attempt at the presidency, following the 2016 election and her race against Barack Obama in the 2012 Democrat presidential primary, in which she failed to beat the incumbent to the party's candidacy.

Ms Clinton says she will continue to participate in US politics, but denied she would run for another office such as the mayor of New York.

“I want to be sure that people understand I’m going to keep speaking out,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere,” adding that she'll work to help the Democratic candidate in 2020.

"We have to work really, really hard to make our case to the American people, and I'm gonna do everything I can to help the Democrats win back the White House," she said.

The race to be the Democrat's candidate for the 2020 presidential election is taking shape with a high number of declared candidacies from women, minorities and left-wing politicians.

Ms Clinton's primary challenger in the 2016 Democratic primaries, Bernie Sanders, launched his candidacy for 2020 last month, hoping to replicate the surge in interest from young people in 2016.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and California Senator Kamala Harris have also declared their candidacies.

Ms Clinton has reportedly been holding meetings with some of the potential presidential candidates, including Ms Harris and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Much of the diversity of the early Democratic field is seen as a reaction to Ms Clinton's own run in 2016.

The former Secretary of State, US Senator for New York and wife of former US President Bill Clinton was the first woman to be selected as a presidential candidate for a major American political party in 2016.

The wealth of female candidates has been attributed to Ms Clinton's trailblazing campaign – and the Women's March, MeToo and Times Up movements that emerged from Mr Trump's victory.

Meanwhile, the surge of younger or more progressive candidates is seen as a reaction to what many perceived as Ms Clinton's flaw – that she is a relic of the outdated Washington establishment.