On Monday’s broadcast of “MSNBC Live,” Clinton Campaign Manager Robby Mook stated that he wasn’t “going to get into details about who knew her medical information” when asked if Clinton’s campaign staff knew she had pneumonia when she was diagnosed on Friday, while Clinton Campaign Press Secretary Brian Fallon told CNN that “The senior staff was aware on Friday,” that Clinton had pneumonia.
Mook was asked by anchor Kate Snow, “Did you know on Friday, Robby, that she was ill? Did you know that she had the diagnosis of pneumonia, and if so, what did you advise her to do?”
He responded, “Well, she obviously saw the doctor on Friday, got the diagnosis of pneumonia, and in consultation with her doctors, she decided to power through that.”
Snow cut in to ask Mook if he knew about the diagnosis. He answered, “She didn’t — I’m not going to get into details about who knew her medical information, but she made a determination with her doctor that she would power through this. She didn’t want it to affect anything. And obviously, on Sunday, when she got overheated, it was clear she needed some downtime. An so, in consultation with her doctor she’s taking some downtime.”
Snow followed up, “I asked because you’re the campaign manager, and you’re the one in charge of the schedule and what she’s doing, and I wonder if you didn’t know — would you have advised her to take a couple days down and maybe not plan this trip to California today?”
Mook answered, “Well, I certainly — I’m certain — let’s just say I’m happy that she’s getting some much needed downtime now. But she’s looking forward to getting back out on the trail very soon.”
Snow later came back to this point, asking, “Robby, I’m reading between the lines, and I want to make sure I’m not misreading. I’m reading between the lines of what you’re saying, that the staff did not know that she had pneumonia.”
Mook said, “Yeah, but look, I want to be fair here. If we’re going to talk about transparency and disclosure, Donald Trump has not released a single piece of serious information about his health. That letter he released was a joke.”
Snow told Mook he would ask Trump’s representatives about this when she interviewed them, before asking again, “[D]id the staff not know that she had pneumonia on Friday? Am I right in reading that from what you’re saying?
Mook answered, “I’m just saying — all I’m saying is I just would hope that you drill in with the same detail with his team as you’re drilling in with ours. We released the information as soon as this — as soon as we could, when this happened this Sunday. I wish that it happened quicker than 90 minutes. Again, we were busy attending to her health. So, that’s on us. But we look forward to Donald Trump releasing his medical information. Let’s just make sure everybody’s meeting the same bar here.”
In an earlier interview, Fallon was asked by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, “Did you personally know she had pneumonia on Friday?
Fallon answered, “The senior staff was aware on Friday, and then word spread in the campaign after that. But, look, it was her decision to want to press on.”
(h/t Real Clear Politics)
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