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Hillary Clinton was quick to cite Trump’s refusal to back away from birtherism as evidence that the Republican nominee was fanning the flames of racial division.

Addressing the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute at its annual gala in Washington on Thursday evening, Clinton condemned Trump for continuing to push conspiracy theories surrounding Obama’s birthplace.

Hillary Clinton. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/AP

“He still wouldn’t say Hawaii. He still wouldn’t say America,” the Democratic presidential nominee said. “This man wants to be our next president? When will he stop this ugliness, this bigotry?”

Clinton returned to the campaign trail earlier in the day with a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, marking her first public appearance since she made public her diagnosis with pneumonia after abruptly leaving a 9/11 memorial on Sunday in New York City.

In her remarks before the gathering of prominent Hispanic leaders, Clinton reiterated her support for comprehensive immigration reform while decrying Trump’s rhetoric against immigrants and Muslims alike.

“There’s no innuendo or dog whistles anymore,” Clinton said of the Republican nominee. “It’s all right out there in the open now.”

“We need to stop him conclusively in November in an election that sends a message that even he can hear.”

Obama spoke before the group just prior to Clinton and similarly urged the Hispanic community to stand up against Trump’s bluster.

“I know that there are a lot of folks who had this notion of what the real America looks like and somehow it only includes a few of us,” the president said. “But who’s going to decide who the real America is?”

“Folks are betting that if they can drive us far enough apart and if they can put down enough of us because of where we come from, or what we look like, or what religion we practice then that may pay off at the polls.”

“But I’m telling you that’s a bet they’re going to lose,” he added.

