Trump and Clinton Trade Barbs Over Health With Tighter Race Ahead

Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. (Photo: Reuters/AP/Altered by The Quint)

Hillary Clinton returned to campaigning without offering apologies for keeping her pneumonia a secret, focusing on criticizing opponent Donald Trump instead of how she handled her health problem and the three-day rest ordered by her doctor.

To the strains of James Brown’s “I Feel Good,” the Democratic presidential candidate returned to the campaign trail Thursday at a rally in North Carolina.

It was her first public outing since she stumbled and needed support from aides while leaving a 9/11 memorial in New York last Sunday. 

Clinton told supporters on Thursday that while sitting at home this week was “pretty much the last place I wanted to be,” the time away from campaign events helped clarify how she wants to close her race against the billionaire real estate mogul Trump.

Amid questions about both candidates’ openness regarding their health, Trump released a new letter from his doctor detailing his blood pressure, cholesterol and medications. That came a day after Clinton made public a letter from her physician with similar information. Both candidates’ doctors declared them fit to serve as president.

Trump’s letter said the Republican is 6-foot-3 and 236 pounds — giving him a body mass index falling into the “overweight” range. The 70-year-old has blood pressure of 116 over 70, and his total cholesterol is 169, his doctor says. Clinton, 68, has blood pressure of 100 over 70, and her total cholesterol is 189, according to her doctor. Her letter made no mention of her weight, a key part of a medical exam; nor did a similar letter released last year.

Until Thursday, the only information on Trump’s health had come in a widely ridiculed letter from his doctor declaring he would be the healthiest person to ever serve as president.

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.

With two months until Election Day, the race between Clinton and Trump is far tighter than many in both parties expected. Clinton continues to be dragged down by voters’ mistrust, but she still maintains more pathways than Trump to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House.

(With inputs from AP)