Clinton, Dems shrug off pneumonia diagnosis

WASHINGTON (AP) – When Hillary Clinton was diagnosed with pneumonia late last week, she informed a handful of her closest advisers, but pressed on with a busy campaign schedule and did not inform the public that she was sick.

Clinton said: “I just didn’t think it was going to be that big a deal.”

Her first comments about her health condition came in a CNN interview late Monday, a day after a dizzy spell caught on video forced her to disclose the illness and cancel a West Coast campaign trip.

The incident reinforced Clinton’s reputation as a public figure with a predisposition for privacy. While her top campaign aides conceded they were too slow in providing the public with information about Clinton’s condition, it was unclear how quickly they themselves had been informed.

A Democratic congressman says members of the party have “no concern” about Clinton’s health.

Rep. Joe Crowley of New York said there was “not a single question or reverberation” about the subject at a meeting Tuesday of House Democrats.

Clinton abruptly left a 9/11 anniversary ceremony Sunday and needed to be helped into a van. Hours later, her campaign revealed she had been diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday.

Crowley, who stood near Clinton at Sunday’s ceremony, says the episode merely proves that “she is a human being” who is susceptible to colds, the flu and pneumonia.

Crowley called questions about whether Clinton should have revealed her diagnosis earlier unfair. He noted that Clinton’s Republican opponent, Donald Trump, has not revealed his medical or tax records.