Hillary Clinton has repeatedly attacked Donald Trump for his rhetoric toward American allies. | AP Photo Clinton hits Trump's Mexico trip: 'That is not how it works'

Hillary Clinton on Wednesday hammered Donald Trump over his immigration rhetoric and criticized his leadership abilities, launching a barrage of attacks on the Republican presidential nominee as he traveled to Mexico.

Trump, who has modulated the hard-line immigration stance he held when he announced his campaign last June, has suggested a possible “softening” of his position on illegal immigration. He is expected to clarify where he stands in a major immigration speech Wednesday night in Phoenix, which will come after he meets with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico City — an invitation extended to both Trump and Clinton.


While Clinton has not accepted the invitation to go south of the border, she stressed that it will take more than a political stunt to compensate for 14 months of the anti-Mexico headlines Trump has generated throughout his presidential campaign.

Blasting Trump for “insulting our friends” and “acting like a loose cannon,” Clinton outlined the leadership qualities necessary to occupy the Oval Office.

“It’s more than a photo-op,” she said, alluding to Trump’s recent visit to flood-ravaged Louisiana with running mate Mike Pence, which the governor’s office warned shouldn’t occur if the trip would amount to a photo-op, and suggesting his current trip is just for politics, too.

“It takes consistency and reliability. Actually, it’s just like building personal relationships: People have to get to know that they can count on you, that you won’t say one thing one day and something totally different the next,” she said, knocking Trump again for flip-flopping his position on immigration. “And it certainly takes more than trying to make up for a year of insults and insinuations by dropping in on our neighbors for a few hours and then flying home again. That is not how it works. American leadership means leading with our values, in pursuance of our interests in protection of our security.”

The Republican National Committee and Trump campaign both blasted out statements after Clinton’s speech, with the RNC attacking Clinton’s judgment and the campaign casting her as a candidate who is out of touch with veterans and incapable of standing up for them.

In her remarks, Clinton repeatedly pushed back against Trump’s claims that the country is in decline, ridiculing his “Make America Great Again” slogan. Thanking the veterans she addressed at the American Legion Convention in Cincinnati for their service and risking their lives “to protect the greatest country on earth,” Clinton noted, “Some may argue with that, but not around me.”

But America is more than great and must continue to be a world leader, she stressed, boasting of American exceptionalism while knocking Trump for failing to see that the U.S. is an indispensable nation. Trump last April said he didn’t like the term “American exceptionalism” because it’s not “very nice” and “you’re insulting the world” by using it.

“You may wonder how anyone could disagree,” Clinton said, adding that Trump agrees with Russian President Vladimir Putin that the term is an insult to other nations and acknowledged that Russians “don’t want to hear that America is exceptional.”

“Well maybe you don't want to the hear it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true,” she said. “My opponent misses something important: When we say America is exceptional, it doesn’t mean that people from other places don’t feel deep national pride just like we do. It means that we recognize America’s unique and unparalleled ability to be a force for peace and progress, a champion for freedom and opportunity. Our power comes with a responsibility to lead humbly, thoughtfully and with a fierce commitment to our values.”

Clinton warned of the vacuum other countries and terrorist networks would “rush in to fill” if the U.S. failed to lead. It is without question that America must lead, she remarked, but the question is how — and if a candidate doesn’t understand those necessary values, that candidate doesn’t know what makes America great.

“There is no question: We face real threats and real enemies that we need to confront and defeat, but my opponent is wrong when he says America is no longer great,” she said.

She accused Trump of cozying up to dictators and repudiated his belief that America’s military is a “disaster.” “That is an insult to the men and women serving today and all who have served before who put their lives on the line,” she said. “It's just not true.”

And, in a clear swipe at Trump, Clinton also vowed never to disrespect Gold Star families or prisoners of war. Trump sparred for days with a Gold Star family who spoke ill of him at the Democratic National Convention and beyond and claimed Arizona Sen. John McCain isn’t a war hero because he was captured.

“To insult them is just so wrong, and it says a lot about person doing the insulting,” she said.

“This election is about how to make things better. Now make no mistake, I believe we do have better days ahead, but things could also get worse,” Clinton warned, particularly if Trump is in the White House. “If more countries get nuclear weapons, if we abandon our allies, if our commander in chief orders our military to break the laws and commit torture or murder terrorist family members. That’s why it is so critical we get this right.”

Clinton acknowledged the unusual race she’s in as she faces off against a proud political outsider who’s only recently started professionalizing his campaign, pointing to the current political discourse that doesn’t hinge on typical policy disagreements.

“I hope you will listen carefully to what my opponent and I propose. Consider our plans and the values behind them, and after you’ve given us both a fair hearing, I hope you will join the growing number of Americans, Democrats, Republicans and independents who are supporting our vision for the kind of future that we want for our country,” she said. “This election shouldn't be about ideology. It’s not just about differences over policy. It truly is about who has the experience and the temperament to serve as president and commander in chief.”