Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign acknowledged on Monday that it mishandled Clinton’s health scare from Sunday and promised to release additional medical details in the coming days, Reuters reports.
The former Secretary of State was abruptly removed from a 9/11 memorial event in Manhattan on Sunday after suffering what senior law enforcement officials described as a “medical episode.”
Her doctor later said that Clinton was suffering from pneumonia and the incident at the memorial was a result of dehydration and overheating.
Clinton, 68, subsequently canceled a trip to California to recuperate, but her campaign drew criticism for waiting two days to reveal the pneumonia diagnosis, a move that reinforced concerns about what critics view as a tendency toward secrecy.
“I think that in retrospect, we could have handled it better in terms of providing more information more quickly," Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon told MSNBC.
He said the campaign was too focused on making sure Clinton was well instead of releasing information during the 90 minutes following the release of a video showing her nearly collapsing after attending the memorial.
The campaign said initially that Clinton was suffering from the heat.
"In those 90 minutes, we were putting a priority on making sure she was OK,” Fallon said, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, Clinton herself tweeted on Monday that she was feeling better.
“Thanks to everyone who’s reached out with well wishes! I’m feeling fine and getting better. Like anyone who’s ever been home sick from work, I’m just anxious to get back out there. See you on the trail soon,” she wrote.
Even before Sunday’s episode, Clinton had been experiencing a cough that gained attention last week, when she had a coughing fit at the start of a campaign event which she brushed off as an “allergic reaction” to her Republican rival, Donald Trump.
Prior to Sunday’s incident, the Clinton campaign hadplayed down her December 2012 concussion and lengthy recovery, while ridiculing rumors she is suffering from significant physical ailments.
Spokesman Fallon said on Monday that Clinton never lost consciousness during the episode and it was not connected to the 2012 concussion.
“There’s no other undisclosed condition. The pneumonia is the extent of it," he said.
Trump, 70, has been suggesting for weeks that Clinton lacks the energy needed to be president. He has raised questions about her stamina, mirroring a strategy used during the Republican primary campaign when he derided rival Jeb Bush as a "low-energy" candidate.
Asked by Fox News on Monday about the health of the candidates, Trump said, "I think it's an issue. In fact ... this last week I took a physical and .... when the numbers come in I'll be releasing very, very specific numbers."