Clinton’s team tried to address some of the criticism on Monday morning, arguing that Clinton wanted to keep her full schedule and the fault for the lack of information rested with her staff.
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“What happened yesterday was that I just was incredibly committed to being at the memorial”, she added.
“So I just want to get this over and done with and get back on the trail as soon as possible”, she said. Video from outside the event appeared to show her knees buckling as she got into her van.
“I’m feeling great”, she reporters as she walked from her daughter’s building to her vehicle and stopping to pose for a picture with a child.
In the same interview, Clinton hit back at criticism over her lack of transparency by blasting her Republican opponent for declining to release his tax returns – a long standard move during USA presidential campaigns.
Her rival, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was unexpectedly quiet about Sunday’s incident despite weeks of raising questions about her health. “You compare everything you know about me with my opponent”.
“Anderson, that people know more about me than nearly anyone in public life”.
“I just didn’t think it was going to be that big a deal, ” she said of the pneumonia diagnosis she received on Friday.
The public was left in the dark about Clinton’s whereabouts for about 90 minutes, sparking widespread speculation about her condition.
The sudden focus on Clinton’s health threatened to create a political crisis for her in the closing stretch of the race because of her campaign’s handling of the disclosure as much as the diagnosis itself.
Hillary Clinton said Monday that she regretted her decision to ignore her doctor’s recommendation that she rest for five days. Trump, 70, has said only he is in excellent health.
“We know she’s healthy”, he said.
Worries that Clinton could have health problems were stoked by a previous incident in 2012, when a stomach virus and dehydration prompted her to faint, causing what her doctor said was a concussion.
Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon told MSNBC the campaign would release more medical information in the coming week.
Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly called Hillary Clinton “despicable” for branding half of Donald Trump’s supporters as racists.
Clinton then went to her daughter Chelsea’s apartment nearby and later emerged, telling reporters that she was “feeling great”. Clinton addressed her supporters via teleconference.
The first of three debates is scheduled for September 26 at Hofstra University on Long Island. He said he assumed a coughing fit Clinton had a week ago was the pneumonia that was announced Sunday.
Even before Monday’s comments, Trump already had said both candidates should release detailed medical records. The episode was also sure to fuel a vocal group of online conspiracy theorists, deemed “healthers” by some Clinton supporters, who point to videos and photos of Clinton as evidence of her poor health.
“It’s just the kind of thing that if it happens to you and you’re a busy, active person, you keep moving forward”, Clinton said on CNN.
“It’s so odd”, said Clinton.
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Meantime Trump is refusing to release his tax returns and so far he’s only released a four-paragraph medical note from his doctor without many specifics.
