'You Are Not Fit to Be Commander in Chief': Tammy Duckworth Calls Out Donald Trump During DNC Speech (VIDEO)

PHILADELPHIA, IL — Taking the stage at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday to cheers of "Tam-my" and the song "That Lady" by the Isley Brothers, U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-8th District) talked about how she survived a rocket-propelled grenade attack on the Army Black Hawk helicopter she was co-piloting while serving in Iraq in 2004.

"I ended it knocked down, surviving only because my buddies refused to leave me and wouldn’t stop, even as they struggled to carry my body, with its missing limbs," she said.

As one of the opening speakers before presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's acceptance address Thursday night, Duckworth emphasized Americans—as a community and as individuals—coming together to help one another, a quality that is one of this country's strengths, she said. But it's also a quality, she was quick to point out, that would be lost under a Donald Trump presidency:

"I worked hard, but I had a lot of help—from my community and country. And my story is not unique. It’s a story about why this is the greatest nation on earth—a nation that so many are willing to die defending. A nation that says if you keep working hard, we won’t abandon you.

"Of course, in Donald Trump’s America, if you get knocked down, you stay down."

Watch Rep. Tammy Duckworth address the Democratic National Convention on Thursday

That wasn't the only shot Duckworth took at the Republican's presidential nominee.

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"By the way, Donald Trump, I didn't put my life on the line to defend our democracy so you could invite Russia to interfere in it. You are not fit to be Commander in Chief," she said, a reference to Trump's controversial remarks Wednesday encouraging the country's government to try to dig up and release more damaging emails concerning Clinton and the Democratic Party.

This is the third consecutive time Duckworth has been tapped to speak at her party's national presidential convention. ABC News listed her as one of the Democrat's rising stars who was attending this year's event in Philadelphia. This November, the congresswoman will try to unseat Illinois incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk.

While helping those in need was the theme of her speech, Duckworth also took a moment to recognize the historical significance of Clinton's candidacy and possible presidency.

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"We named our little girl after Abigail Adams, who urged her husband to 'remember the ladies' as he and his colleagues first declared our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—just a few miles from this very spot," she said. "My Abigail already knows women can fly helicopters in combat. And in 102 days, when we elect Hillary, my daughter's first memories of a President will be of a woman."

PHOTO: U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth addresses the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on Thursday. (C-SPAN)

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