Hillary Clinton says she's 'ready to come out of the woods' as she hints at political future

Former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton suggested she may soon be playing a bigger role in American politics during a rare appearance in her father's hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania on Friday.

Clinton made headlines in the immediate wake of her election loss to Donald Trump after a supporter ran into her hiking with husband and former President Bill Clinton in the woods near her Chappaqua, New York home.

During remarks to the Society for Irish Women's annual St. Patrick's Day dinner, she admitted it was tempting to stay tucked away from the limelight, but said she knew she had to fight for the causes she believes in.

"I am ready to come out of the woods and to shine a light on what's already happening around kitchen tables at dinners like this to help draw strength to enable everyone to keep going, that's the spirit of Scranton," she said during her remarks at the dinner.

"I'm like a lot of my friends right now, I have a hard time watching the news," she admitted.

But she also said she's committing herself to bridging the gap of political partisanship.

"I do not believe that we can let political divides harden into personal divides. And we can't just ignore, or turn a cold shoulder to someone because they disagree with us politically," the former secretary of state said.

Rumors have circulated that Clinton may be considering a formal return to politics this year by running for mayor of New York City, but she has not formally addressed those reports.

Clinton was warmly received in Scranton, her father's hometown that she regularly visited during her campaign for president.

"As I will say to her tonight we are her village, it takes a village and we`re hers," dinner attendee and society founder Evie Rafalko McNulty told local resident WNEP.