Opponents of Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, are citing recently released fake medical documents as evidence she is unfit for office. Speculation surrounding the former senator’s health is nothing new, but this latest round of accusations is an indication of just how desperate some pundits have become.
Earlier this week, ostensibly legitimate outlets such as Fox News joined with conspiracy theory hacks Info Wars in suggesting that the former senator was seriously ill, perhaps even suffering from an unspecified, yet major, neurological problem.
The unsubstantiated claims ranged from a suspected case of Parkinson’s disease, to allegations that half a million dollars had been spent lowering the floors of SUVs in order to prevent Clinton from tripping. Meanwhile, other news outlets, many of which admitted that the records were fake, were more than happy to share details with their readership.
Invisible Symptoms
The leaked material, consisting of some of the most absurd documents ever to emerge in a political campaign, claim that Clinton suffers from both Complex Partial Seizures and Subcortical Vascular Dementia. Symptoms associated with these conditions include, blackouts, uncontrollable twitching, and memory issues. That Clinton has not exhibited any of these symptoms, despite being the focus of intense media scrutiny for months, did not seem to warrant mention.
Misleading Photos
Meanwhile, the Drudge Report decided to mislead its readers by taking a six-month old photograph out of context. The photograph in question, was one of Clinton being helped up some stairs she had just slipped on while campaigning in South Carolina last February. The fact that people trip, is not news; the photograph went viral anyway. The American Mirror picked up on the tweets and published a story on Sunday with a headline that read:
“PHOTO: Multiple staffers help unstable Hillary upstairs.”
Real Records Are Available
All this fuss was being made against a background that was anything but opaque. Clinton, like most people, has had some medical problems. All of them are well documented.
In December 2012, then Secretary Clinton fainted whilst suffering from stomach flu. She received a mild concussion as the result of the fall. During a follow-up exam, doctors spotted a blood clot in her brain. The clot was treated with anticoagulants and she was released from hospital a few days later.
That short stay in the hospital was more than some Republican commentators could stomach. Many refused to accept the medical opinion of those actually treating the patient, and instead indulged in wild, at times hysterical, speculation.
Republican political consultant, Karl Rove, was one such pundit. Rove, a man who has described billionaire Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, as being an underdog, suggested in May 2014, that Clinton was brain-damaged. Rove said:
“Thirty days in the hospital? And when she reappears, she’s wearing glasses that are only for people who have traumatic brain injury? We need to know what’s up with that.”
In fact, Clinton was back at work just a few weeks after a hospital stay that lasted for four days, not 30. An unnamed spokesperson for Clinton was quick to answer Rove’s accusations, as the AP reported:
“Clinton, weakened by a stomach virus, fell in her Washington, DC, home in December 2012 and sustained a concussion. Her doctors said a blood clot had formed behind her right ear in the space between her brain and skull. Karl Rove has deceived the country for years, but there are no words for this level of lying. As for her health, she is 100 percent. Period.”
The Last Word On Clinton’s Health
Nor was that the last word on Clinton’s health. In 2015 she underwent a complete medical exam. She was given a clean bill of health from Dr. Lisa Bardack, Chairman of the Department of Medicine at the Mount Kisco Medical Group in New York.
Dr. Bardack’s report concluded that Clinton was in:
“Excellent physical condition and fit to serve as President of the United States.”
Meanwhile, In Donald Trump’s Digestive Tract
Ironically enough, the state of Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, has health issues that are less clear. In 2015, he released a letter signed by Dr. Harold N. Bornstein, a gastroenterologist. Gastroenterologists specialize in the digestive tract and do not normally perform full medical examinations. The letter, which can be found here, to put it mildly, is bizarre.
To begin with, the header is written in the same font as the actual document, a clear sign that it was created using a word processor. Secondly, the URL it lists, takes you to the kind of page that you should never click on. Unless you want a virus that is. It is also riddled with typos and poorly constructed sentences, opening with the line:
“To whom my concern.”
Donald Trump Has a Bad Case Of… Well, Everything Really
Most inexplicable of all, is the claim that the medical examination of Trump revealed only positive results. In medical terms, a positive result indicates the existence of a disease or condition. In which case, Donald Trump is currently suffering from every condition detectable by modern medical science.
And that’s something I suppose.
Watch Fox News’ Sean Hannity desperately buy into absurd conspiracy theories.
