Considering candidates’ health
By: Dylan Brennan, Columnist
Hillary Clinton’s health has come under the spotlight ever since she collapsed at the 9/11 memorial last week, and had to be dragged into her car. It’s political suicide to leave the 15th anniversary of our nation’s greatest tragedy if you’re running for president, so Clinton must have been having a medical emergency. It should be noted her entourage seemed disturbingly prepared for a situation like this, and didn’t show any surprise, shock, or lack of training. While her doctors have reported that she did indeed have pneumonia, and that she was overheated that day, she clearly has more serious health issues.
It is not the first time that Clinton has fallen down and collapsed; five in the past eight years, at least. Once in 2009, she fell so hard she broke her elbow, while in 2012, she fainted and bumped her head in her kitchen, giving her a concussion. While analyzing the concussion, doctors also discovered a blood clot in her brain. While we all trip and fall sometimes, I don’t think it’s normal for a then-sixty-year-old woman to fall that many times in public, let alone how many times she may have fallen in private.
If you think falling may just be coincidental or simply bad luck, there are other problems pertaining to her health.
The interview this month where she coughed continuously for minutes while on her plane was not an uncommon occurrence. Secretary Clinton has been seen dozens of times over the past eight years in what can only be described as hacking fits, some from as far back as 2008 during her first run for president, to as recent as September 5th in Cleveland, where she coughed for over four minutes straight, spitting wads of phlegm into her water glass every so often. Mrs. Clinton can crack jokes how she’s “allergic to Trump” all she wants to make the crowd laugh and cheer, but people should really start to be concerned about this.
The most damning piece of health issues is the supposed seizures Clinton has. Many times in her interviews and even some campaign stops, she has bobbed her head sporadically or even stared into space with intensity. The rumors that she has seizures are bolstered by the fact her entourage has been seen on video to have small black medical-type injection pens with them, quite possibly containing Diazepam, a drug that stabilizes seizing people. Her main handler has also been seen with a pin on his jacket lapel, which many think looks like the kind that medics wear. The most concerning piece of evidence for her rumored seizures was in early August at a Las Vegas rally, where she suddenly gazed out into the crowd with a mix of concern and worry, while her aforementioned handler rushed onto the stage to be at her side, telling her to continue talking and that nothing bad was going to happen. There are even other guards pulling those black pens out of their jacket, which the handler tells to put back in their pockets.
I am not going to act like we haven’t had unhealthy presidents in the past, from Taft’s infamous obesity, to Franklin Roosevelt’s polio, to the countless heavy drinkers and smokers throughout our history. I’m also not going to agree with Dr. Harold Bornstein in saying Trump is the healthiest candidate in history. But while Trump may have gotten fairly overweight with his love for McDonald’s, that is not a debilitating health issue. Being fat can’t even compare to how dangerous and serious seizures, fainting spells, and constant coughing can be for someone nearly the same age.
I don’t expect this information to change anyone’s mind. I have told several people about this and they’re not voting differently. Many people think Mrs. Clinton can run the country even if she has these issues, and she seems to do fine on debate stages. Regardless, if you are skeptical at seriousness of these examples, you cannot deny Clinton gets sick and weak often. If anything, remember this: one of these two will be the oldest president ever elected in the United States, and that his or her health won’t get any better with age.
