As the 2016 Presidential election nears a close, the finish-line feels exhaustingly distant, and name-calling, finger-pointing and eleventh-hour campaigning is unobliging. A new issue that has proved to be an increasing concern by both voters and Donald Trump is candidate health, and particularly the health of Hillary Clinton.
The rumors of Clinton’s poor physical and mental health were fueled by a comment made by former New York City Mayor and close adviser to the Trump campaign, Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani speculated that the former Secretary of State “appeared sickly.” Since that comment was made, Trump joined the conversation, claiming that Hillary “lacks mental stamina to be President.” Alt-right and conservative outlets, such as the Drudge Report, have gone as far to claim that Clinton suffers from regular seizures, Parkinson’s disease or even cancer. With no evidence other than abstract observations and outdated medical records, the rumors did not gain much momentum until early September.
On September 11, 2016, preceding a 9/11 memorial service in New York City, an anonymous video surfaced, depicting Clinton receiving assistance while stumbling into a vehicle. Most viewers came to a similar conclusion: Hillary Clinton was indisposed. Conceivably, the video sparked fiery debate on social media and television. Those defending Hillary claimed that she was suffering from heat exhaustion on the warm New York City day. Those in opposition insisted that the incident was a clear indication that Clinton was physically unwell, perhaps unfit for candidacy. “Many people do not question the authenticity of their media outlets, even if they contain little factual evidence to back them up,” said junior Maria Alejandra-Arguello. The health hysteria was dispelled when Clinton’s doctor released a statement revealing that Hillary had a case of pneumonia but was being hydrated and advised to take a break from the campaign trail. Although some were skeptical of the diagnosis, her doctor later provided a detailed explanation, stating that Hillary’s pneumonia affected one of the three lobes of her right lung. Junior Maddie Francis explains why the revelation is unlikely to change voters minds this late in the election cycle: “I think both parties are so desperate to win votes that they are willing to pull any card against the other candidate. I do not believe that it will affect the election immensely because both Trump and Clinton have secrets that they refuse to share.” In response to Hillary’s diagnosis, Trump told Fox & Friends that he plans to release “very, very, specific numbers” regarding a physical he had received, and encouraged Hillary to do the same. That Thursday, Trump released the hyped numbers when he appeared on Dr. Oz’s talk show, The Dr. Oz Show. It turns out that the foremost health record among the Presidential nominees belongs to infamous “What is Aleppo?” libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson. Johnson’s physician released a letter shortly after Hillary’s predicament revealing that the candidate does not drink, smoke, was gluten free once, and loves to rock climb.
With the candidate’s health records released, it is safe to say that candidate health deficit is not an issue to agonize over. In an interview with CNN, Dr. Jen Gunter compared the new health cries and standards to that of receiving a pilot’s license.