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Dem: Clinton ‘not one who likes to call in sick’

by TheHill.com - 09/12/16 11:37 AM ET

A Hillary Clinton ally said Monday that that the Democratic presidential nominee doesn’t like to “call in sick” in explaining her appearance at a 9/11 memorial ceremony after she was diagnosed with pneumonia.

“I had no idea that she was ill,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who was with Clinton in New York on Sunday, told MSNBC’s Tamron Hall.

{mosads}”I’m sure her doctor told her on Friday to stop working,” Maloney said. “I think it shows that she’s not one who likes to call in sick.

“Actually, I thought that she looked good. I thought she looked fine,” Maloney said.

Clinton’s physician said in a statement Sunday evening that dehydration and overheating forced her to leave a 9/11 memorial ceremony early. Video showed Clinton stumbling toward a black van as aides held her up.

Reporters and others criticized the campaign for not being more open about the candidate’s condition after her doctor said she was diagnosed on Friday with pneumonia.

Maloney, however, would not say that Clinton’s campaign should have disclosed the diagnosis sooner.

“I don’t release every time I’m sick. I don’t think you do, either,” she said.

The Democratic lawmaker said Clinton will likely rest with some “chicken soup and penicillin” but insisted “she’s going to be fine.”

Clinton’s campaign canceled a fundraising trip to California scheduled for early this week.

Maloney argued that Clinton’s persistence in showing up Sunday shows “her determination, her commitment and her stamina.”

The lawmaker added that first responders would likely be “extremely disappointed if she wasn’t there.”

A top Clinton official admitted Monday that the campaign “could have done better” the previous day but defended the public’s knowledge about Clinton compared to her rival, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Tags Donald Trump Hillary Clinton