Clinton talks about her time of 'reflection' during sick days

Hillary Clinton returned to the campaign trail Thursday afternoon, debuting some new intro music and telling the crowd that her sick days allowed her a chance to "reconnect with what this whole campaign is about."

The former secretary of state, who took the stage to James Brown's "I Feel Good," spent the beginning of the week at her home in Chappaqua, New York, after being diagnosed late last week with pneumonia. Her campaign initially did not disclose the illness and only did so after Clinton was forced to leave an event early on Sunday commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

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"I tried to power through it but even I had to admit that maybe a few days of rest would do me good," she told the Greensboro, North Carolina, crowd of her pneumonia. "And I'm not great at taking it easy, even under ordinary circumstances, but with just two months to go until Election Day, sitting at home was pretty much the last place I wanted to be."

"But it turns out having a few days to myself was actually a gift, I talked with some old friends. I spent time with our very sweet dogs. I did some thinking," she continued. "The campaign trail doesn't really encourage reflection. And it's important to sit with your thoughts every now and then and that did help me reconnect with what this whole campaign is about."

Clinton compared her own ability to take a handful of sick days to that of many Americans who she said are forced to "either go to work sick or they lose a paycheck." She said those Americans, and others "living on a razor's edge" with an aging parent who needs help or without the means to afford a college education, are the reason she is running for president.

Speaking in North Carolina, Clinton made special mention of the law there forcing transgender individuals to use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender on their birth certificate. The law, seen by many as discriminatory, has prompted the NBA, NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference to move major sporting events out of the state, costs that the former secretary of state said, "We can't afford."

"I'm running for the LGBT teenager here in North Carolina who sees your governor sign a bill legalizing discrimination and suddenly feels like a second-class citizen," she said. "And if anyone wonders what is the cost of discrimination are, just ask the people and businesses of North Carolina, look at what's happening with the NCAA and the ACC. This is where bigotry leads and we can't afford it, not here, not anywhere else in America."

Clinton did not address her opponent, Donald Trump, by name but did spend a significant portion of her remarks laying out many of the contrasts she regularly draws with her opponent. She told the crowd that "I am actually asking Americans to hold me accountable for my ideas and hold my opponent accountable for his."

"You know, I've been involved in politics. It is not an easy business. It can get rough, and I've built up some defenses. When it comes to public service, I am better at the service part than the public part," she said. "People accuse me of all kinds of things. You probably have seen that. But nobody ever accuses me of quitting. And I will never give up. I'll never walk away. No matter how tough the going gets."