Hillary Clinton Wanted to 'Power Through' with Pneumonia, Donald Trump Seizing on Clinton's Absence and More

Hillary Clinton's insistence to "power through" the 9/11 memorial ceremony may be doing more harm than good. Aside from the distraction of having to answer days of questions from reporters about keeping her Friday diagnosis of pneumonia from all but a few people, Clinton finds herself absent from a campaign trail in its final stretch.

That moment isn't lost on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who sought to capitalize on a one-candidate news cycle for as long as he can have it by hitting Clinton on her critical comments about Trump supporters, in which she referred to them as a "basket of deplorables."

The ability to shift focus serves Trump in a another way: During a weekend in which two investigations into Trump's relationship to money — especially other people's money — were published, the New York businessman was able to sidestep much of the heat because of Clinton's "pneumonia problem."

Top Stories

Clinton's Impulse to ‘Power Through’ with Pneumonia Set Off Cascade of Problems: "Clinton’s decision set in motion perhaps the most damaging cascade of events for her in the general-election campaign — giving fresh ammunition to Republican nominee Donald Trump, who lags in the polls, and spoiling a two-week offensive she had plotted before the first debate." (The Washington Post)

Donald Trump Seizes Hillary Clinton’s Absence to Press His Case: "Donald J. Trump hurled himself into a new effort to reshape the presidential race on Monday, scrambling to allay voters’ concerns about his temperament and put Hillary Clinton on the defensive over her critical comments about many of Mr. Trump’s supporters." (The New York Times)

More Questions Raised About Donald Trump's Relationship to Money: $150,000 from 9/11 Fund and a $20,000 Portrait of Himself: "Donald Trump may be staying silent on Hillary Clinton's case of pneumonia for very good reason: The entire episode is serving as the perfect distraction from two more investigations published this weekend into the relationship between him and improperly used funds." (Patch)

Why Apple Needed 10 Days to Fix a Scary iPhone Hack: "Apple has a terrific reputation when it comes to security. That’s why it was such a shock to learn last month that hackers found a way to break into the company’s famous iPhones, and even take over the camera and microphone features without a user even knowing it." (Fortune)

From the Twitterverse

How Hillary Clinton arrived at "basket of deplorables:"

On the Radar

• Hillary Clinton has cleared her schedule on Tuesday due to illness.
• President Obama will campaign for Clinton in Philadelphia.
• Donald Trump will host rallies in Des Moines, Iowa and in Aston, Pennsylvania.
• Tim Kaine will attend a rally with the Michigan Democratic Party in Ann Arbor.

Today's Numbers

• 55 days until Election Day 2106.
• Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell still owes more than $10 million to the lawyers who got his federal corruption conviction overturned.
• Who are the 40 percent of Americans who do not vote?
• Donald Trump claims he's given tens of millions of dollars to charity.

Quote of the Day

Donald Trump on his recent physical:

"I feel very confident. Otherwise I probably wouldn't be telling you I did this."

Allen McDuffee is a politics and policy reporter, investigative journalist, blogger and podcast host. He has written for The Atlantic, Wired and The Washington Post. Follow him on Twitter: @AllenMcDuffee

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via FlickrCommons