David Axelrod, a former campaign strategist and current CNN contributor, had some rude words for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton after she showed signs of illness on Sunday. The Clinton campaign fired back.
Axelrod: ‘An Unhealthy Penchant For Privacy’
Early Monday morning, David Axelrod tweeted the following:
Antibiotics can take care of pneumonia. What's the cure for an unhealthy penchant for privacy that repeatedly creates unnecessary problems?
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) September 12, 2016
Jennifer Palmieri, the communications director for Clinton’s campaign, had some choice words for him.
We could have done better yesterday, but it is a fact that public knows more about HRC than any nominee in history. https://t.co/Q50oHK85wQ
— Jennifer Palmieri (@jmpalmieri) September 12, 2016
She followed that tweet with:
In contrast to HRC, Trump has been less transparent than any nominee in modern history. https://t.co/Q50oHK85wQ
— Jennifer Palmieri (@jmpalmieri) September 12, 2016
Palmieri is 100 percent correct. Clinton has been in the public eye for decades, and the scrutiny of her began early on. The American people are well aware of who this woman is and what she believes. And, unlike her opponent, Clinton actually has real information on her website.
At least Palmieri admitted that the whole situation could have been handled in a better way. The press and the Trump campaign are having a field day with this. Palmieri has a long history of handling the press, though. As communications director in the Obama White House until early last year and a national press secretary for John Edwards in 2004, she’s adept at handling mishaps.
A Twitter War With Both Campaigns
The Trump campaign is, of course, loving all this. Trump’s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, had this to say:
Whoa. Well said. https://t.co/GeCfN5jKAN
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) September 12, 2016
He was not about to let that slide, though.
Transparency works BOTH ways, @KellyannePolls! Where r @realDonaldTrump tax returns? Health records? Secret plans? https://t.co/RaNWQ0CJAC
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) September 12, 2016
Trump’s minions never answer real questions, whereas Clinton’s campaign said today that more detailed medical information will be released soon.
“Campaign spokesman Brian Fallon, speaking with MSNBC on Monday, said that additional details about Hillary Clinton’s health status would be made public ‘in the next few days’ but that there was ‘no other undisclosed condition.'”
All of this leaves me wondering: what more does the media want? All we’ve gotten from Trump is a very odd letter written by a questionable doctor, yet almost no one is pushing him for records.
I say, again, that much of this is based on the fact that she is a woman. The media and the Trump campaign want nothing more than to portray her as a weak, old, grandmother who can’t possibly handle the rigors of the presidency.
The woman who happened to get ill this week is the same woman who withstood over 11 hours of grueling testimony last October. Her doctor says she’s on the mend. And we DO know more about her than any other candidate in history – that much is true.
Can we please move on to REAL issues now?
Featured Image by PBS NewsHour via Flickr under a CC BY-NC 2.0 license
