Clinton Campaign Falters, As Health Questions Swirl

WASHINGTON, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News -12th Sept,2016) - Hillary Clinton's White House bid stumbled Monday as a bout of pneumonia gave her rival Donald Trump a new opening to question her fitness for office, while pledging to release details on his own health soon.

In his first public comments since the Democrat Clinton was taken ill at a 9/11 ceremony in New York Sunday, an unusually subdued Trump offered her his wishes for a rapid recovery but also suggested that the former secretary of state's health issues were of longer standing than admitted.

"Something is going on but I just hope she gets well and gets back on the trail, and we'll be seeing her at the debate," the Republican candidate said in a phone interview with Fox news. The unexpected turn of events barely eight weeks before the November 8 elections has turned a conservative angle of attack into a serious line of questioning about the 68-year-old Clinton's health, why it took two days to reveal the pneumonia diagnosis, and what would happen if she were forced to quit the race.

"Antibiotics can take care of pneumonia. What's the cure for an unhealthy penchant for privacy that repeatedly creates unnecessary problems?" asked the former White House aide David Axelrod on Twitter.

"We could have done better yesterday, but it is a fact that public knows more about HRC than any nominee in history," fired back Clinton's communications director Jennifer Palmieri. But the episode has fueled fresh speculation and conspiracy theories on the internet, already awash with unsubstantiated rumors Clinton may have a brain tumor, Parkinson's or dementia.

#HillarysBodyDouble was a trending topic on Twitter Monday. - 'Not the first time' - ======================== The root of the persistent claims about Clinton's health lies in 2012, towards the end of her tenure as secretary of state.

A stomach virus and dehydration prompted her to faint, causing what her doctor said was a concussion. Doctors said they found a blood clot on the brain. Clinton later received the all-clear. The former first lady has dismissed rumors about her health and pointed to a letter from her doctor declaring her fit to serve as president.

But Trump has repeatedly raised doubts about Clinton's stamina and physical strength, and on Monday questioned her campaign's account of the current episode. "Because they say pneumonia on Friday, but she was coughing very, very badly a week ago and even before that if you remember, and this was not the first time," he said in an interview with CNBC.

Drawing a contrast, Trump told Fox he had a physical last week and would release the details once test results are back. "I think they are going to be good. I feel great but when the numbers come in, I'll be releasing very, very specific numbers," the 70-year-old real estate magnate said.

- California trip off - ======================= Forced to cancel a California fundraising trip on Monday and Tuesday, Clinton was recovering at her home in Chappaqua, New York. She "continues to feel better, but intends to remain at home today, following her doctor's recommendation to rest," said her spokesman Nick Merrill.

"In the evening, she will phone in briefly to the event in San Francisco, which is proceeding as scheduled in her absence. A source close to Clinton told AFP that several of her collaborators at the campaign headquarters in Brooklyn have also fallen ill in recent weeks, including campaign manager Robbie Mook.

But it was not known if that was the source of Clinton's infection. The incident Sunday, in which a wobbly Clinton appeared to lose her footing while being helped into her vehicle as she left the Ground Zero memorial, was caught on amateur video posted on social media.

A campaign statement said she "felt overheated" so she left for her daughter Chelsea's apartment. A few hours later, Clinton walked out of her daughter's home, smiling and posing for pictures with a young girl before departing for her home in Chappaqua, just northeast of Manhattan.

"I'm feeling great, it's a beautiful day in New York," Clinton said. - 'Powering through' - ====================== But the campaign later released a statement from her personal doctor, Lisa Bardack, revealing that Clinton had been diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday and was suffering from dehydration.

"She was put on antibiotics, and advised to rest and modify her schedule," Bardack said, adding that she was "now re-hydrated and recovering nicely." Despite Clinton's pneumonia diagnosis, she had a whirlwind schedule Friday that included a two-hour working meeting on national security, a sit-down interview, and a fundraiser.

"'Powering through' illness is what women do," tweeted former Michigan governor and Clinton surrogate Jennifer Granholm. American University professor Jennifer Lawless said Clinton will be under pressure in coming days to show her "vitality and viability." "She has to be at tons of events and seem very energetic," Lawless told AFP.