Making a confident first public appearance since pneumonia forced her to take rest for four days, Hillary Clinton returned to the campaign trail and insisted that she was fully recovered.
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“I am 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”, Clinton said, adding that she initially tried to power through.
In addition to Clinton’s rally in Greensboro, N.C., she will speak Thursday night at the same event in Washington as Obama, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s gala.
Mrs Clinton’s communications director, Jennifer Palmieri, said that the enforced break from the election campaign had given the 68-year-old time to “sharpen the final argument”, with just over 50 days to go until the vote.
Earlier, in a briefer campaign speech than she usually delivers, Clinton tried to explain why she hid her pneumonia diagnosis from the public until after she almost collapsed leaving the 9/11 ceremony.
The health status of US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is under the microscope as their bitter campaign intensifies.
The Trump campaign yesterday released a doctor’s letter saying its candidate is in “excellent physical health”.
The campaigns traded barbs on the health question, with Clinton’s organization mocking her opponent’s “showmanship” and Trump’s campaign pointing to his stamina to endure “uninterrupted” the rigors of campaigning. “So I think what you’re going to see from us over the next few weeks is trying to showcase why she’s running, what she wants to get done, the people she wants to help”. Before releasing his medical records, Trump – who would be the oldest person to ever become president – sat down with television doctor Mehmet Oz to discuss the physical results and his lifestyle habits. She had been diagnosed with pneumonia Friday, but the campaign informed the public only after the video of an ill Clinton emerged.
Outside Clinton’s event, there were a handful of protesters including one with a new sign “I am deplorable” – a reference to Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment about Trump supporters. “She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as President of the United States”. Some black leaders have also suggested that Trump’s outreach to minorities is mostly about proving to undecided white voters that he’s not racist.
Clinton and Trump both released letters from their doctors this week with additional details about their health, including cholesterol levels, blood pressure and current medications.
Meanwhile, Trump delivered an economic speech in NY and is scheduled to go to New Hampshire afterwards.
On Wednesday, Clinton released a letter from her physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack, to dispel rumours about her health.
Trump said Monday he was planning to release detailed health information from the new physical exam in the coming days, following Hillary Clinton’s health scare at the September 11 memorial service and revelations that she was diagnosed with pneumonia.
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“Everything that is broken today can be fixed, and every failure can be turned into a great success”, said Mr Trump.
