At the rally, Mr Obama made both the case for Mrs Clinton and for his own presidency.
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Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has had previous health episodes similar to Sunday’s near collapse, according to her husband, former President Bill Clinton. But that hasn’t stopped him from taking some jabs.
“She treats everyone with respect”, Obama said. “Her staff thought she had pulled a muscle exercising”.
Clinton’s health scare after she nearly collapsed at an event on Sunday, causing her to cancel some campaign trips, revived concerns about a tendency toward secrecy that has dogged her campaign, and underscored perennial worries about the medical fitness of candidates for one of the world’s most demanding jobs.
The conflicting reports brought a storm of attacks on the campaign from Republicans and Democrats alike, who demanded more clarity on Clinton’s health status. She has said she will release additional information about her health in the coming days.
Brian Fallon, a campaign spokesman, said that Clinton would continue her speech tour once she returned to full health, with addresses focused on “an inclusive economy”, “a call to national service”, and “a vision for how we should prioritize the condition of kids and families”.
Clinton told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Monday that she meant to return to her campaign schedule “in the next couple of days”. August was actually a lighter-than-usual month for Clinton and she focused on fundraising more than she had in other months.
Clinton said: “I just didn’t think it was going to be that big a deal”.
“So I think the President’s belief that she would be an excellent President of the United States is something that you have heard him say many times”. The president, who remains broadly popular among the Democratic base, is viewed as a key asset in pushing die-hard Democrats to the polls, especially in battleground state urban centers such as Philadelphia. He said he “really, really, really” wants to see her elected and pledged to work hard on her behalf. Trump has seized on those concerns, often questioning Clinton’s stamina and energy.
“She has pneumonia”, Reid continued.
She subsequently canceled scheduled trips to California and Nevada.
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Obama reserved part of his speech to “vent” about the media, arguing news organizations have treated Clinton unfairly and applied what he described as a false equivalence when covering the campaigns’ troubles. “He wasn’t going to let you on his golf course”, Obama said. “I just could not live with these kids crying about missing Elmo'”.
