Hillary Clinton Appears to Faint at 9/11 Ceremony
Clinton was thrown in a van ‘like she was a side of beef,’ a law enforcement official said, after her campaign said she ‘felt overheated.’
Brian Snyder/Reuters
Hillary Clinton abruptly left the 9/11 ceremony at Ground Zero on Sunday morning. Initially, her campaign said it was because she “felt overheated.” Later, Clinton’s team released a statement from the candidate’s doctor, saying that Clinton “was diagnosed with pneumonia.” The doctor, who put Clinton on antibiotics and advised Clinton to rest, added that the former secretary of state became “dehydrated” during Sunday morning’s events.
A senior law enforcement official told The Daily Beast that Clinton looked pale when she arrived at the ceremony. She left the ceremony at about 9:30 a.m., according to pool reports. As she walked away from the ceremony, according to numerous law enforcement officials, she slumped and appeared to faint. Then, according to the sources, her detail put her into a waiting vehicle.
“They threw her in like she was a side of beef,” a senior law enforcement official told The Daily Beast.
Video taken by Zdenek Gazda of New Jersey shows Clinton unstable before she was put inside the van.
Gazda told Buzzfeed News that Clinton “looked like everything was fine and everything was good” before she reached the van.
Officials also said she left behind a shoe.
About 90 minutes after Clinton’s departure, campaign spokesman Nick Merrill told reporters that the candidate left the ceremony prematurely to go to her daughter’s apartment because she was feeling poorly. He added that she now feels much better. Clinton left Chelsea’s apartment slightly before noon, according to ABC’s Liz Kreutz. She smiled and waved at reporters, and said, "I'm feeling great."
Clinton reportedly went home to Chappaqua, New York, after leaving Chelsea's apartment.
The incident prompted mass confusion this morning as Clinton was whisked way from Ground Zero. AP reporter Lisa Lerer tweeted that Clinton and her security detail were seen departing the ceremony in lower Manhattan at about 9:30 a.m. The campaign then went dark.
“Clinton left the 9/11 ceremony 30+ mins ago but press pool was not told to where,” tweeted ABC’s Liz Kreutz. “Aides now not responding to any Qs about her whereabouts”
The Democratic presidential nominee was in lower Manhattan for a ceremony commemorating the 15-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks when she and her motorcade apparently made a hasty departure. The ceremony was still underway when they left. Traveling pool reporters tweeted that the campaign did not initially tell them where the candidate went.
The episode comes as conspiracy theories on the right have swirled about Clinton’s health. The Clinton campaign has pushed back on those rumors, saying that the Democratic nominee is in good health.
Last month, during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel, Clinton joked about the rumors.
“Back in October, The National Enquirer said I would be dead in six months,” she said. “So with every breath I take I feel like I have a new lease on life.”