Republican strategist Karl Rove on Sunday defended his recent comments about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s health history, saying he only asked what her 2012 concussion means for her decision to run for president in 2016.
“I was asked ‘is she running?’ ” Rove said on “Fox News Sunday.” “And I said ‘my brain says yes; my gut says this is a more complicated decision.’ ”
Rove was defending his comments, reported Monday in the New York Post, in which he pointed to Clinton’s concussion and recovery. He said she wore glasses intended for people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries, and she was hospitalized for 30 days.
“We need to know what’s up with that,” Rove was quoted as saying.
Rove admitted that he was incorrect about the hospitalization. It took Clinton 30 days to recover, but she was not hospitalized throughout that time.
“I’m not questioning her health,” Rove said Sunday. “What I’m questioning is whether or not it’s a done deal that she’s running. And she would not be human if she did not take this into consideration.”
Rove later said Clinton would be pressured to release more information about her concussion, which she suffered in December 2012, after a fall in her home, if she runs for president in 2016.
“She’s going to have to cough up these medical records and describe this,” he said.
On the program, USA Today columnist Kirsten Powers agreed that Rove’s intentions are valid, while Fox News analyst Juan Williams criticized his comments.
“If it really is just about whether or not she would run, that’s not over the line, because I think anybody would say that,” Powers said.
“I think this was a harsh attack by Karl,” Williams said. “He says he’s not bringing up Mrs. Clinton’s health, but you are talking about her health.”