Republican strategist Karl Rove comments about Hillary Clinton’s possible health problems have caused him to clarify his remarks to media outlets.
Rove made the comments last week to The New York Pos t Page Six during a discussion about the 2016 presidential race saying the former Senator and Secretary of State may have suffered a brain injury in 2012 that caused a blood clot.
“Thirty days in the hospital, and when she reappears she’s wearing glasses that are only for people who have traumatic brain injury? We need to know what’s up with that,” Rove said.
Rove went on “America’s Newsroom” on Fox News Tuesday and host Bill Hemmer challenged his remarks, saying Clinton was only in the hospital for only three days. Rove conceded the point about her hospital stay but stuck by his month-long timeline Politico reported. “She goes in on a Sunday, she comes out on a Wednesday. But this is a 30-day period where she’s fighting something.”
Rove said his main point was that her health will come up on the campaign trail if she chooses to run for the Democratic nomination in 2016.
“Get ready. The New York Times is going to be asking a lot of tough questions about every candidate’s health. They always do. And it’s going to be an issue. It was an issue when George W. Bush ran. It was an issue when John McCain ran.”
Rove told Hemmer he didn’t use the term “brain damage” saying “I never used that phrase, I never used that phrase. But look, she had a serious health episode. And I don’t know about you, but if you go through a serious health episode, it causes you to look at life a little bit differently. This was a serious deal,” he said.
Former Speaker of the House and GOP Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich criticized Rove’s comments saying he was “deeply offended.”
Gingrich held a Facebook question and answer Tuesday saying in response to Rove and wrote “I am totally opposed and deeply offended by Karl Rove’s comments about Secretary Clinton. I have many policy disagreements with Hillary but this kind of personal charge is exactly what’s wrong with American politics. He should apologize and stop discussing her health. I was angry when people did this to Reagan in 1980 and I am angry when they do it to her today.”
Rove has been called the “architect” behind Pres. George W. Bush campaigns in 2000 and 2004.
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