Hillary Clinton’s Health Becomes a Campaign Issue

The Democratic candidate for the presidential elections on Nov. 8 suffered a dizzy spell during the memorial ceremonies for the victims of Sept. 11, 2001.

Republican attacks, which judge Hillary Clinton to be too fragile to govern and not very transparent, have been fueled by her diagnosis of pneumonia.

► What Happened on Sunday, Sept. 11?

The images have been playing in a loop on American TV and on social media since Sunday. We see the Democratic candidate for the White House from behind and she appears unsteady, fighting to stay upright while waiting for her car. And when the minivan with tinted windows arrives, it is only with the help of two bodyguards that she manages to get in it.

A few minutes earlier, Hillary Clinton had to leave the anniversary memorial ceremony for the victims of Sept. 11, 2001. After having spent an hour and a half at ground zero, the site of the attacks in New York, the former first lady felt “overheated,” according to her campaign team.

Due to the heat that struck Manhattan on Sunday, she was a victim of dehydration, which forced her to take refuge in the nearby apartment of her daughter Chelsea. A few hours later, she came out all smiles, upright, and saying that she felt well.

► From What Is the Democratic Candidate Suffering?

Following a long silence of many hours, the Democratic candidate’s campaign team ended up admitting that the sun shining on Ground Zero didn’t explain everything… In a report drawn up by Hillary Clinton’s own doctor, Lisa Bardack, we learned that the candidate had been well rehydrated, but also that she was suffering from pneumonia, which had been diagnosed two days before, and that she was being treated with antibiotics.

Despite this report, several outstanding questions remain. The Democratic headquarters hasn’t so far considered it appropriate to clarify the nature of this respiratory illness, of which there are several different types. Pneumonia can in fact be caused by bacteria, by a virus or, more rarely, by a fungus that attacks the lungs. There also hasn’t been any indication as to how Hillary Clinton reacted to the treatment.

In the meantime, the Democratic candidate, who is visibly weakened, has had to change her campaign plans. The former secretary of state has canceled a planned trip to California on Monday and Tuesday, where she would have participated in fundraising events.

► What Impact Could this Health Problem Have on the Electoral Campaign?

In political terms, this illness, and the images that accompanied this revelation on Sunday, constitutes, with less than two months until the vote, very bad news for the candidate and those around her. First of all, because they must change a schedule that has already been given a lot of thought. In an American campaign, time is precious and accounted for, whether it is spent with voters, with the press or with financial contributors.

But the damage is even more obvious in terms of image. The incident provides grist to the mill of Donald Trump, age 70, who has been repeating for months that Hillary Clinton, age almost 69, doesn’t have the energy or the necessary strength to move into the Oval Office. The Republicans are not missing the opportunity to remind people that the former secretary of state was a victim of thrombosis in 1998 and 2009, as well as a concussion following a blood clot in the head in 2012 after a fall.

Worse still, this incident, and the way the Democratic camp has managed it, justifies the attacks denouncing the “secret culture” of the Clintons. Bill and Hillary are indeed regularly accused of not telling Americans everything, from their fortune and their relationships with the great and the good, to their health. Hillary Clinton’s pneumonia will further complicate the Democratic candidate’s task, as she only inspires relative confidence among her compatriots.