Clinton: ‘Ugliness,’ ‘bigotry’ the best Trump can do

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton rebuked her Republican rival Thursday evening for refusing to say President Obama was born in the United States, describing it as just another example of his divisive and racist rhetoric. 

{mosads}Speaking from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gala in Washington, D.C., Clinton looked to remind Latino voters of the controversial remarks Donald Trump has made about minorities during his campaign. 

“He was asked one more time where was President Obama born, and he still wouldn’t say Hawaii. He still wouldn’t say America,” Clinton said.

“This man wants to be our next president. When will he stop this ugliness, this bigotry? He’s tried to reset himself and his campaign many times. This is the best he can do. This is who he is.”

Clinton was referring to an interview Trump did with The Washington Post published Thursday in which he declined to say if he believed Obama was born in the U.S., despite several top surrogates claiming he felt differently in recent interviews.

“I just don’t want to answer it yet,” Trump said.

But the examples of racism don’t stop there, Clinton said.

“Everywhere I go, people tell me how concerned they are by the extreme policies and divisive rhetoric they’ve heard from my opponent, from the racist lie about Mexican immigrants that launched his campaign to his racist attack on a federal judge,” Clinton said. 

It’s been a week full of stumbles for the Clinton campaign that has possibly contributed to Trump’s rise in the polls. 

Clinton disappeared from the campaign trail for a few days this week after contracting pneumonia. The campaign revealed the diagnosis Sunday after Clinton was seen being helped into a van following an early exit from a 9/11 memorial. 

Questions about her health and ability to serve have swirled in the days since, and she returned to the campaign trail Thursday for an event in North Carolina before attending the gala.

Last week, Clinton drew the ire of Republicans when she said “half” of Trump supporters could fit into what she called a “basket of deplorables,” a remark she walked back later. 

She sought Thursday to remind voters, especially Latinos who could play a major role in swing states, of the stakes in the election and that despite her perceived shortcomings, Trump’s vision for America is a dangerous one. 

“Donald Trump is running the most divisive campaign of our lifetime. His message is, ‘You should be afraid of people whose race or ethnicity is different,'” Clinton said. 

“We need to decide who we are. If we just sigh and shake our heads and accept this, then what does that tell our kids about who we are? We need to stand up and repudiate this divisive rhetoric. We need to stop him conclusively in November in an election that sends a message that even he can here.”