Josh Hafner

USA TODAY

Donald Trump refused to admit that President Barack Obama was born in the United States in an interview published Thursday, reviving the patently false “birther” conspiracy theory he first peddled years ago.

Later, Trump’s campaign released a statement that claimed the candidate did, in fact, believe Barack Obama was a natural-born U.S citizen. The only problem: The statement came from a spokesman, not Trump himself.

“Don't believe the biased and phony media quoting people who work for my campaign,” Trump wrote in May. “The only quote that matters is a quote from me!”

It’s For the Record, the American-made politics newsletter from USA TODAY.

Trump and ‘birtherism’: I guess we have to go through this again

Last month, Hillary Clinton accused Trump of building a campaign on “prejudice and paranoia,” courting bigots and racists and conspiracy theorists of all types. In Thursday’s interview in the Washington Post, Trump did little to deflate such claims.

Trump was asked whether he believes Obama was born in Hawaii.

“I’ll answer that question at the right time,” he told the newspaper. “I just don’t want to answer it yet.”

Hours later, Trump’s campaign issued a statement from adviser Jason Miller claiming that Trump did think Obama was born in the states. Trump’s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, told the same thing to CNN last week: “He believes President Obama was born here.”

Trump, who, again, suggested his own campaign staffers’ quotes don’t matter, cast doubt on Conway’s assertion when talking to the Post.

“It’s okay,” he said. “She’s allowed to speak what she thinks.”

In the Trump campaign statement, Miller, the spokesman, claimed Hillary Clinton birthed the "birther" issue during her 2008 campaign — an already disproven assertion that Trump himself has made.

Moreover, Miller suggested that Trump stopped believing Obama was foreign-born after the president released his long-form birth certificate in 2011.

Again though, if Trump's right, the only quotes that matter are his.

Here’s Trump himself in 2012:

Here’s Trump in 2013:

Here’s Trump in 2014:

And here’s Trump on Obama’s birth certificate in 2015: “I certainly question it.”

Clinton, back on the campaign trail after being sidelined with pneumonia, went after Trump on Thursday.

"This man wants to be our next president?" she asked. "When will we stop this ugliness, this bigotry?"

Trump, the Post noted, has never disavowed his claims that the nation’s first black president was born abroad and ineligible for the presidency.

A poll last month found 1% of African Americans support Trump.

Trump: If I had bad medical results, I wouldn't release them

Earlier on Thursday, Trump’s campaign unfurled a new single-page summary of his health that declares him fit enough to serve as president.

The exam was conducted by Harold Bornstein, the same doctor who said he wrote Trump’s previous health statement in five minutes while a limo sent by Trump waited outside his office.

The results declared that Trump weighs 236 pounds, stands 6-foot-3 and has normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels despite a diet including taco bowls and KFC.

The results were good, Trump said. Why else would he share them publicly?

"I wouldn't be talking to you right now if they were bad," Trump said of the results on Fox & Friends. "If they were bad, I would say let's sort of skip this, right?"

Clinton released a letter from her physician Wednesday, detailing her pneumonia and other test results. We let you compare Clinton and Trump’s medical data side by side.

More from the campaign trail:

Trump claims lower taxes, less regulation can create 25 million jobs (USA TODAY)

He wants to raise some money off Clinton's 'Deplorables' remark (USA TODAY)

After Colin Powell's insult goes public, Trump reveals he was 'never a fan' (USA TODAY)

John Boehner, retired from Congress, lands new job with tobacco giant. Politics! (USA TODAY)

Flashback: Obama roasts Trump for 'birther' quest at 2011 event

Watch Obama roast Trump in 2011 at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. The same week Obama released his long-form birth certificate, he joked that Trump could "bring some change to the White House."