As both Presidential candidates prepare for the first presidential debate next Monday night, they continue to release medical information in order to quell any lingering doubts about their health.
Notably, Hillary Clinton shocked reporters when she fainted in NYC after a 9/11 ceremony, a spectacle that was later revealed to be due to dehydration and pneumonia. Shortly thereafter, a conspiracy theory went viral claiming that Clinton had a body double attending her campaign events due to her failing health. Clinton, addressing the controversy, released additional medical information stating that she was determined to be in excellent mental and physical health after a series of comprehensive physicals. As for Donald Trump, the Republican nominee recently handed Dr. Oz a physical report during an interview after his campaign struggled to declare when or where he would do so. The candidate was pressured to release more information about his health after his personal physician, Dr. Harold Bornstein, became something of a joke due to his release of a hastily written and sparse medical report that stated that Mr. Trump would “be the healthiest individual elected to the presidency” and neglected to state any of the foot issues that got Trump a draft deferment during the Vietnam War.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s new campaign strategy of introducing a softer and more tele-prompted candidate that focuses on the issues seems to be paying off. New polls indicate that the candidate has completely recovered from his summer slump following numerous controversial blunders, especially one with the mother of a gold-star family. Currently, Trump stands at 46% of voter support in Ohio, a crucial swing state where Clinton currently holds only 41% of voter support. In Florida, the two candidates are essentially tied with the results reporting a minor lead for Trump within the margin of error. However, it should be noted that some analysts contribute this lead to a lack of support among young voters for Clinton rather than a strong showing of support for Trump. Part of Trump’s success has been his capitalization on voters’ mistrust of Clinton; for instance, he recently proclaimed that Clinton’s email scandal was far worse than the Watergate scandal because while President Nixon was forced to resign over his crimes, Clinton hasn’t even faced charges.
In other news, Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State from the 2nd Bush Administration, returned to the political spotlight after his personal emails were hacked and released to the public this week. In his released emails, Powell expresses criticism for both Clinton and Trump, but his harsh words for Trump are especially head turning. In one email, he called Trump a “national disgrace and an international pariah” and shamed Trump for leading the “racist” movement for President Obama to release his birth certificate. In another email, Powell stated that Trump “appeals to the worst angels of the GOP and poor white folks”; Trump later responded to the remarks by saying that he wasn’t a big fan of Powell either. As for Clinton, Powell stated that “Everything HRC touches, she kind of screws up with hubris”. Analysts are still uncertain over whether these emails will affect Powell’s expected endorsement of Clinton but they can agree on one important fact: an old politician has just joined the growing ranks of Americans who are increasingly dissatisfied with both major candidates.
