As Donald Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway appeared as a guest on Tuesday's New Day, CNN co-host Alisyn Camerota suggested an equivalency between Hillary Clinton being secretive about actually being diagnosed with a serious illness and Donald Trump choosing to release a letter from his doctor instead of releasing his entire medical history, even though Trump has not had any public health episodes during his campaign.
The CNN host also brought up running mate Mike Pence's hesitance to specifically use Clinton's word "deplorable" to describe David Duke in a CNN interview, even though Pence immediately denounced the former KKK leader in the same appearance.
Camerota's very first question after introducing Conway tried to find an equivalency on the health record issue of the two candidates as she posed, "Who's been more transparent about their health? Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?" After Conway remarked that "we saw Hillary Clinton with our own two eyes struggling the other day," the CNN host brought up the medical statement Trump's doctor gave about the GOP candidate and giggled as she followed up:
And she has said now that she was suffering from pneumonia. She got the diagnosis on Friday. This is all Mr. Trump has released about his health -- four paragraphs, as you know, from his gastroenterologist who says that Mr. Trump is in -- his health is (Camerota laughs) "astonishingly excellent." It also says that all of his latest medical examinations and tests were only "positive results," which of course is funny because that means something's wrong, but that's not what he meant. So how can this be considered transparent?
The CNN host soon moved to Trump's tax returns, and, after she wondered if the GOP candidate would release a letter to prove he is under audit, she followed up by touting a political stunt by LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman in which he offered to donate $5 million to veterans' groups if Trump releases his tax records. Camerota:
The founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman, is offering to give veterans' groups $5 million if Donald Trump releases his tax records. That sounds like a great deal for veterans. That's obviously a cause close to Mr. Trump's heart. Will this be an impetus for him despite -- we know what his lawyers have said -- but the IRS has said that he can release it, they will not punish him. Lots of tax attorneys have said he can release it and not be punished. Will he release it now, given this motivation?
Camerota then brought up one of the media's favorite recurring subjects -- former KKK leader David Duke's history of trying to link himself to Trump's presidential campaign: "Should Donald Trump's running mate -- Mike Pence -- have said that David Duke is deplorable?"
After she reiterated that Pence denounced Duke, recalling the left's "obsession" with trying to link Trump's campaign to such extremists, Conway recounted some unsavory figures on the far left that Clinton could equally be asked about repudiating:
Will Hillary Clinton disavow - - I mean, does she think Kermit Gosnell was deplorable, who was killing black babies in Philadelphia? Does she think that the people saying that -- calling cops "pigs in a blanket" and asking for their death are deplorable? I sure do. And we can go name after name -- I'll sit here between now and election day.
We won't get to the tens of millions of people Hillary Clinton was referring to by calling them "deplorable." She was referring to hardworking men and women. It wasn't a gaffe. Please, print journalists, be a little responsible, stop calling it a gaffe, she was reading from prepared remarks like she always does, and she has said it before.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Tuesday, September 13, New Day on CNN:
8:10 a.m. ET
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Joining us now is Trump's campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway. Kellyanne, great to have you here.
KELLYANNE CONWAY, DONALD TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Thank you, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Who's been more transparent about their health? Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?
CONWAY: As we know from this past weekend, clearly Donald Trump. I mean, we saw Hillary Clinton with our own two eyes struggling the other day. We certainly hope -- Mr Trump and I and our entire campaign certainly hope that she is well-
CAMEROTA: And she has said now that she was suffering from pneumonia. She got the diagnosis on Friday. This is all Mr. Trump has released about his health -- four paragraphs, as you know, from his gastroenterologist who says that Mr. Trump is in -- his health is (Camerota laughs) "astonishingly excellent." It also says that all of his latest medical examinations and tests were only "positive results," which of course is funny because that means something's wrong, but that's not what he meant. So how can this be considered transparent?
CONWAY: Wow, you can laugh all you want at the medical report, but as far as I can see, there are two major party candidates, and only one of them has pneumonia and lied about it, especially to the press, because she always has -- she treats you like second-class citizens, won't have a press conference, I mean, she pretends to have a press avail, "I'm going to be uplifting and aspirational," and then goes on to attack tens of millions of Americans the very next day.
CAMEROTA: What about health? I mean, this is not a medical report.
CONWAY: But, Alisyn, this is what I expect from the Clinton campaign. I really don't expect it from journalists. We're talking about Hillary Clinton and her pneumonia and what happened on 9/11 which we all saw with our own two eyes, and we're talking -- and it takes us about 10 words to get to Donald Trump. He had a physical last week
CAMEROTA: Yes, and will he be releasing the results of that?
CONWAY: Yes, he said he'll release them probably this week or whenever the doctor has the report prepared.
CAMEROTA: What exactly will he be releasing? His entire medical history or just the results of the last checkup?
(...)
CAMEROTA: Let's talk about Donald Trump's tax records. when can we expect to see them?
CONWAY: When his lawyer and his accountants tell him that he should release them, when he's no longer under audit. He's made that very clear.
CAMEROTA: Has Donald Trump or will he release anything from the IRS, a letter from the IRS proving that he's under audit?
CONWAY: I'm sorry?
CAMEROTA: Will Donald Trump release anything from the IRS proving that he's under audit?
CONWAY: I don't know, why? In other words, why are you -- are you calling him a liar?
CAMEROTA: Well, we're taking his word for it.
CONWAY: Are you calling him a liar? And we're taking Hillary Clinton's word for it that she was overheated and had pneumonia or that she's going to be aspirational and uplifting or that she's going to start talking to the press again. I mean, seriously, we're running against a Clinton and we're going to challenge someone's veracity?
CAMEROTA: The founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman, is offering to give veterans' groups $5 million if Donald Trump releases his tax records. That sounds like a great deal for veterans. That's obviously a cause close to Mr. Trump's heart. Will this be an impetus for him despite -- we know what his lawyers have said -- but the IRS has said that he can release it, they will not punish him. Lots of tax attorneys have said he can release it and not be punished. Will he release it now, given this motivation?
(...)
CAMEROTA: Should Donald Trump's running mate -- Mike Pence -- have said that David Duke is deplorable?
CONWAY: He should -- sure, so that he doesn't get headlines saying, "Mike Pence will not say Donald Trump [sic] is deplorable," and people can get satisfied. But can people play the entire clip? He clearly said on your network -- and thank you for playing the entire clip -- we don't want his support. We don't like what he stands for -- people stand for in the KKK. But there is this -- he's got another point, there is this certain obsession about constantly raising issues and raising people that are not part of our campaign that we have said -- and Reince Priebus the chairman of the Republican National Committee - has said that we don't want his support, we don't want people like that. And it's just -- it's unbelievable.
Will Hillary Clinton disavow - - I mean, does she think Kermit Gosnell was deplorable, who was killing black babies in Philadelphia? Does she think that the people saying that -- calling cops "pigs in a blanket" and asking for their death are deplorable? I sure do. And we can go name after name -- I'll sit here between now and election day. We won't get to the tens of millions of people Hillary Clinton was referring to by calling them "deplorable." She was referring to hardworking men and women. It wasn't a gaffe. Please, print journalists, be a little responsible, stop calling it a gaffe, she was reading from prepared remarks like she always does, and she has said it before.
