During an interview on Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “AC360,” Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated she didn’t divulge her pneumonia diagnosis when she first received it because “I just didn’t think it was going to be that big a deal.” And said that she has suffered incidents similar to what happened at a 9/11 memorial on Sunday “really only twice, that I can recall. You know, it is something that has occurred a few times over the course of my life, and I’m aware of it, and usually can avoid it.”
Clinton began by saying that she felt “so much better.”
She was asked about her husband’s statement that similar incidents had happened before, and how many times she’s gotten dizzy and dehydrated. Clinton answered, “I think really only twice, that I can recall. You know, it is something that has occurred a few times over the course of my life, and I’m aware of it, and usually can avoid it. What happened yesterday was that I just was incredibly committed to being at the memorial, as a senator on 9/11, this is incredibly personal to me, and I could, you know, feel how hot and humid it was. I felt overheated. I decided that I did need to leave, and as soon as I got into the air-conditioned van, I cooled off, I got some water, and very quickly, I felt better. So, I felt fine, but I’m now taking my doctor’s advice, which was given to me on Friday, that I ignored, to just take some time to get over pneumonia completely.”
Clinton further stated that she felt dizzy lost her balance for a minute, but did not lose consciousness on Sunday.
Clinton was later asked why she didn’t disclose her pneumonia diagnosis when she received it on Friday. She answered, “Well, I just didn’t think it was going to be that big a deal. … It’s just the kind of thing that if it happens to you and you’re a busy, active person, you keep moving forward. And, you know, I think it’s fair to say, Anderson, that people know more about me than almost anyone in public life. They’ve got 40 years of my tax returns, tens of thousands of emails, a detailed medical letter report, all kinds of personal details, and, you know, it’s just so — it’s so strange that, with all of that information out there, and as soon as it became clear I couldn’t power through, we, you know, we said what was going on.”
When asked if the incident and her campaign’s handling of it confirmed suspicions about lack of transparency or trustworthiness on her part, Clinton said, “Oh, my goodness, Anderson. You know, compare everything you know about me with my opponent. I think it’s time he met the same level of disclosure that I have for years. You know, you’ve got a medical report on me that meets the same standard as Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. Donald Trump’s doctor said he’d be the healthiest president in history. That’s just not even serious. And I’ve released nearly 40 years of tax returns. He hasn’t released one. This is a man with unknown numbers of partners and investors, who says he’s doing 120 foreign deals. The American people deserve to know what he’s up to and what he is hiding. So, if we weren’t fast enough, you know, I’ve talked to my staff, we, you know, take responsibility for that, but the information is out there. you can’t say the same thing about Donald Trump.”
(h/t Mediaite)
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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