Clinton health may derail her Prez bid; muted Trump wishes ‘early recovery’

The incident, which occurred after months of questions about her health from her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, and his campaign, is likely to increase pressure on Clinton to address the issue and release detailed medical records, which the 68-year-old former secretary of state has so far declined to do, The New York Times said.

Clinton is being treated for pneumonia and dehydration, her doctor said, hours after she abruptly left a ceremony in New York honoring the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and had to be helped into a van by Secret Service agents. Clinton’s campaign today said she was canceling her plans to travel to California on Monday for what had been a planned two-day trip there as part of the election campaign for the November 8 presidential poll.

The episode thrust questions about Clinton’s health and the transparency of her campaign squarely into the last two months of the race, which many polls show has grown tighter, the leading newspaper said.

“The incident quickly renewed attention to Clinton’s health,” The Washington Post said, noting that her rival Trump, 70, has repeatedly questioned her well-being, saying that she doesn’t have the “strength” or “stamina” for the presidency and accusing her of being “exhausted”.

“A weekend of stumbles has Hillary Clinton suddenly looking vulnerable at a pivotal moment of her battle with Donald Trump,” CNN commented.

“Her swoon Sunday at muggy Ground Zero – and damaging video of Clinton lurching into the arms of her security detail – dramatically turned the state of her health from conservative conspiracy theory into a genuine campaign issue,” the network said.

The episode also exacerbates questions about transparency that have long dogged Clinton’s White House bid after the campaign revealed the Democratic nominee is suffering from pneumonia -- a fact it kept quiet since Friday, it noted.

“But Sunday’s drama was just merely a capstone on Clinton’s rough 48 hours,” the network commented, referring to her remark that “half” of Trump’s supporters were “deplorables,” meaning racists, sexists and homophobes.

The remark, for which she later expressed “regret,” had suddenly united a Republican Party that has struggled to get behind its divisive nominee, it said.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Monday wished his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton quick recovery after she was diagnosed with pneumonia and said he would soon release his own health report card.