Clinton campaign delivers ‘pneumonia’ talking points to surrogates
Hillary Clinton wanted to “power through” her pneumonia, but after Sunday’s overheating episode, it “seems like the smart thing to do” to take some downtime, even though she is “raring to get back on the trail.”
Those phrases, projecting strength, prudence, and vigor, were among the six bullet-pointed talking points about Clinton’s health the campaign distributed to its army of outside surrogates Tuesday morning. The marching orders, part of the “Daily Message Guidance” from Brooklyn headquarters, instructed Clinton allies on how to answer questions about the Democratic nominee’s pneumonia and about how she dealt with the untimely setback.
The memo — which sought to underscore Clinton’s famous stamina and to argue she had been transparent about her health — was distributed a day after Clinton’s top campaign officials assured voters that the Democratic nominee had no undisclosed medical conditions, that she’d be back on the trail within the week, and that more medical records were forthcoming.
“To anyone who knows Hillary, it does not come as much of a surprise that even when she’s under the weather, she would want to power through her normal schedule,” read the first bullet point, a defense of Clinton’s decision to ignore her doctor’s advice to rest beginning Friday, when she was diagnosed with pneumonia.
Some Democrats have expressed concerns that the belated disclosure of Clinton’s pneumonia raises a fresh round of questions about transparency. But the surrogates were handed instructions that underscored instead the image of Clinton as an indefatigable leader. “This is the Hillary Clinton America saw as secretary of state: someone who traveled the world at a breakneck pace, tirelessly representing America abroad,” the talking points, obtained by POLITICO, read.
The surrogates were guided to say they could “understand why she wanted to attend the 9/11 memorial on Sunday, as a Senator from New York when the tragedy occurred.” And they were instructed to note that even after her diagnosis, which was shared only with a small handful of aides in her inner circle, Clinton attended “a working session on national security, taking questions from the media and attending an evening event.”
As for Clinton’s decision to take a few days off the trail, resting at her Chappaqua home? No cause for concern. “It seems like she’s doing the smart thing by taking a few days off to rest,” the memo continued, “and I’m sure she’s raring to get back on the trail.”
The surrogates were instructed to defend Clinton’s decision to keep the pneumonia diagnosis private, noting that she “has more than met the standard set four years ago by President Obama and Mitt Romney in terms of disclosing details about her health.”
And like the campaign officials who made the media rounds on Monday, the outside surrogates were advised to remind the media and voters that there’s another candidate in the race, too, who needs more vetting.
“Donald Trump has to be held to that same standard,” the memo read. “His medical letter was a joke. He’s the only candidate in 40 years who hasn’t released his tax returns. We know virtually nothing about his business dealings and foreign investors. It’s time he was held to the same standard as everyone else.”
A Clinton spokesman declined to comment.