Less than two months from election day, it was an unwanted image for Ms Clinton as she tries to project the strength and vigour needed for one of the world’s most demanding jobs.
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The incident comes at an inopportune time for the Clinton campaign, which has been fighting internet rumors about her health after a recent coughing spell which she laughed off by saying “Every time I think about (Donald) Trump I get allergic”. “I regret saying ‘half” – that was wrong”, she said in a statement released by her campaign.
With 57 days until the election and the first debate in two weeks, Clinton is giving Trump two big openings: her self-inflicted wound, in calling “half” of Trump’s supporters “deplorables”.
The relentless conspiracy-theorizing about Clinton’s health-which started years ago, after Clinton sustained a concussion and “required six months of very serious work to get over” it, according to her husband-has swiveled an terrible lot of heads in her direction now that a concrete statement about her health has been released.
Trump’s move is likely to increase pressure on Clinton to release more information about her health. “During the ceremony, she felt overheated, so departed to go to her daughter’s apartment and is feeling much better”. Shortly after, she was seen walking out of it. Dr Lisa R Bardack said Ms Clinton is now “recovering nicely” at home. The weather was warm and humid in NY on Sunday, and there was a breeze at the crowded memorial plaza during the ceremony. She stumbles and appears to fall off the kerb as she is helped to the vehicle. She later cancelled a California fundraising trip.
The campaign instead put out a bland statement marking the 9/11 anniversary.
Meanwhile, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll which also released on Sunday said Clinton and Trump are deadlocked in four battleground states – Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and New Hampshire. Despite Trump’s numerous missteps, the race remains close and many Americans view Clinton as dishonest and untrustworthy.
Her dismissal of half of Trump’s supporters as a “basket of deplorables” of racist, homophobic people on Friday triggered a firestorm of criticism and prompted her to roll back the comment. During the speech, she quipped, “Every time I think about Trump I get allergic”.
She concluded that Clinton is in “excellent physical condition and fit to serve”.
For months, Trump’s supporters have tried to make the case that Clinton is physically unfit for the White House, citing a concussion she sustained in December 2012 after fainting. While at this morning’s event, she became overheated and dehydrated.
A top Trump adviser, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, fueled this stuff, and with this was before Sunday, by suggesting in interviews and on Twitter – with no evidence – that Clinton had health issues. The weather was warm and humid in NY, and there was a breeze at the crowded memorial plaza during the ceremony.
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Asked by the hosts whether someone was expected to replace her as his opponent as a result of the illness, Trump rejected the likelihood of the happening. He said he was standing behind her during the remembrance and “she did not seem out of the ordinary at all”.
