Trump says Clinton is “unfit” for office but doesn’t attack her health issues | McClatchy Washington Bureau

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Donald Trump demanded that Hillary Clinton should issue a full apology for her “deplorables” remark over the weekend, but has refrained from attacking Clinton over a weekend health issue.

Trump, who campaigned in Baltimore on Monday, is using Clinton’s remark as the basis of a new $2 million ad blitz set to hit certain battleground states this week. A Trump supporter punched and slapped protesters as they were being kicked out of a Trump rally in Asheville, North Carolina on Monday evening. The man stayed the entire rally and was not arrested.

Clinton does not have any public events scheduled until Wednesday due to her recent health issues. Her campaign has been criticized for hiding Clinton’s health issues, but presidents have been less than forthcoming about their health in the past and secrecy is par for the course with Clinton.

The White House weighed in on Clinton’s health scare, saying Clinton is fit enough to serve.

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Trump: Clinton should offer a full apology for “deplorables” remark

Donald Trump said that Hillary Clinton is unfit for the presidency after she suggested half of his supporters are a “basket of” racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic and Islamaphobic “deplorables.”

“You cannot run for president if you have such contempt in your heart for the American voter,” Trump said on Monday. “You can’t lead this nation if you have such a low opinion of its citizens.”

Trump is using Clinton’s comments as a campaign rallying cry, saying he is the only candidate that can unify the American people.

Clinton’s health silence is not uncommon for presidents

Despite Clinton aides admitting they should have handled her health in a less secretive manner, there is strong precedent among former presidents to obfuscate their health issues.

NPR provides examples of former presidents hiding their health issues, notably Franklin D. Roosevelt, who lost use of his legs at age 39 from Polio. Roosevelt used leg braces for mobility in public. But in private, used a wheelchair.

That may be the most famous example of a president hiding health issues, but Grover Cleveland surely owns the most bizarre presidential health cover-up. In 1893, it was announced he would be going on a fishing trip. He was actually having a cancerous tumor removed from his mouth while aboard a friend’s yacht. Cleveland returned to the White House a week later.

John McCain, who in 2008 would have been the oldest president in history, was more upfront about his health issues. He allowed reporters to review over 1,000 pages of medical records that revealed he had been treated for melanoma, arthritis and high cholesterol.

The White House isn’t worried about Clinton’s health--but Ben Carson is worried about something else

Obama spokesman Josh Earnest said that the president is fit to serve, recalling her long nights as Secretary of State.

“She pulled long hours,” Earnest said. “She bore a significant burden, both mentally and physically. And she didn’t just succeed in that role, she thrived.”

Vice President Joe Biden also weighed in on Clinton’s pneumonia diagnosis.

“I’ve had pneumonia,” Biden told Clinton campaign workers. “You take antibiotics and you rest a bit.”

But former Trump rival Ben Carson is worried about something bigger when it comes to Clinton.

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Alex Daugherty, @alextdaugherty