US election:
Comeback Clinton vows: 'I'll never walk away'
Hillary Clinton has
vowed she will never give up as she hit the campaign trail again
following a three-day rest after being diagnosed with pneumonia.
Speaking at a rally
in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Democratic nominee said her time
off was a gift, allowing her to reflect on the campaign.
She walked on stage
to the sound of James Brown's I Feel Good to deliver a speech on the
economy.
Polls indicate a
tightening White House race, with 54 days to election day.
Mrs Clinton's return
comes a day after her doctor said she was "healthy and fit".
A history of US
presidential bad health
She told a
boisterous crowd at Thursday's rally: "With just two months to
go until election day, sitting at home was pretty much the last place
I want to be."
"People accuse
me of all kinds of things," she added, "you probably have
seen that, but nobody ever accuses me of quitting and I will never
give up, I'll never walk away, no matter how tough the going gets."
The 68-year-old said
she felt "lucky" that she could afford to take a few days
off, compared with the millions of Americans who could not.
At a brief press
conference afterwards, Mrs Clinton was asked whether she had shared
details of her pneumonia diagnosis with her running mate, Tim Kaine.
She appeared to
parse her words carefully as she replied that "many senior staff
knew and information was provided to a number of people".
"This was an
ailment that many people just power through," she continued,
"and that's what I thought I would do as well."
She then jetted off
to a give a speech at an event in Washington DC.
The race has focused
on both candidates' state of health and medical records in recent
days.
Analysis - Anthony
Zurcher, BBC News, Washington
As countless
thousands of armchair physicians looked on, Hillary Clinton took to
the campaign trail for the first time since her near-collapse on
Sunday. It was a speech where "optics" mattered at least as
much as what she said. Did she look healthy? Was her voice strong?
Aside from a bit of
hoarseness, Mrs Clinton hit her marks - a sharp contrast from the
wobbly figure helped into a van on Sunday. If she keeps this up, her
health concerns will likely recede into the background.
Perhaps more notably
from a strategic perspective was Mrs Clinton's humbler, more personal
tone.
She admitted her
faults, but said one of her strengths was never quitting. Early on,
she pivoted from talking about her illness to the struggles of
Americans who can't afford quality healthcare.
Although she took
swipes at Donald Trump, she only referred to him as "my
opponent". As she told the press after her speech, she wants to
give Americans "something to vote for, not just against".
Her campaign has
relentlessly bashed Mr Trump over the past months, but she seems to
be acknowledging that this alone may not be enough to win her the
presidency.
On Thursday, Donald
Trump released a letter from his doctor saying he is in "excellent
physical health", albeit overweight.
The Republican
nominee earlier this year released a brief memo from the same
physician asserting he would be "the healthiest individual ever
elected to the presidency".
The 70-year-old
businessman also discussed his health with Dr Mehmet Oz during a
taped episode of the medical chat show, which aired on Thursday.
At a rally in Ohio
on Wednesday, Mr Trump used Mrs Clinton's recent health scare to cast
doubt on her stamina.
He said: "I
don't know folks, do you think Hillary Clinton would be able to stand
up here for an hour?"
On Sunday, she had
to be helped into a van after abruptly leaving the World Trade Center
memorial after aides said she felt "overheated".
In other
developments:
Ivanka Trump cut
short an interview with Cosmopolitan after objecting to the questions
Donald Trump, Jr
denied anti-Semitism after he accused the media of not holding
Democrats to account, adding: "If Republicans were doing that,
they'd be warming up the gas chamber right now"
Donald Trump, Jr
also said his father had declined to release his tax returns because
they would only distract from his main message, according to the
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
.webp)
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário