Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:03 pm
There comes a phase in some presidential campaign when one side is losing so badly that they begin grasping at insane conspiracy theories. One could argue that Trump’s entire candidacy is based on these tin-foil-hat ideas, but that’s a discussion for another time.
As it stands, Donald Trump and those still supporting him are increasingly latching on to another conspiracy theory: Hillary Clinton is too ill to serve as president.
Their airtight reasoning doesn’t come from those who know Clinton’s health like, say, her doctor. Nope, it’s all based on pure speculation.
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Last week, the deteriorating Sean Hannity proved once again how shameless he is and devoted an absurd amount of time on his show to Clinton’s medical history. He hosted a phony panel of doctors on to engage in wild speculation, and Hannity himself suggested that Clinton has brain damage.
His evidence? Cherry-picked photographs, like this one that shows the Democratic nominee, wearing heels, being helped up a flight of stairs during a campaign stop earlier in the year.
There are videos, too, like this one of Clinton which they point to as evidence that perhaps she suffers from mini-seizures. Of course, an actual reporter – something Sean Hannity has never aspired to be – who was there says that allegation is absurd.
In fact, this whole discussion is absurd.
To Donald Trump’s credit, he initially said it would be “inappropriate” for him to dig around in the Democratic nominee’s health records, but he changed his tune in a speech yesterday when he said Clinton doesn’t have the “mental and physical stamina” to be president.
As his poll numbers continue to tumble, as they did again today, I suspect he will come all the way from “it’s inappropriate” to hosting his own panel about Clinton’s mythical health troubles.
Of course, we shouldn’t forget that Trump is also the guy that accused Ted Cruz’s father of being involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, but I digress.
All of this ignores what Clinton’s own doctor – a person I suspect would know a thing or two about her physical fitness – has said about the Democratic nominee’s health.
“[She] is in excellent physical condition and fit to serve as president of the United States,” wrote Dr. Lisa Bardack in a letter from last year.
Let’s be honest what this is really about, though.
It’s not about Hillary Clinton’s health, which as her doctor has said, is “excellent.” It’s about a desperate candidate and his supporters knowing full well that they are losing their grip on this race.
Desperate people do desperate things.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
