Photo of Clinton having trouble with stairs fuels rumors of bad health

8 Aug, 2016 10:14 / Updated 8 years ago

Hillary Clinton’s health could be taking a nose-dive, people are speculating, after a February photo re-emerged, showing the presidential candidate escorted by staffers up a flight of stairs on the campaign trail in South Carolina.

The worrying photographs, circulated by major agencies, show Clinton, 68, being led up the stairs of what looks like a private home. Breitbart and other media have ventured a guess that Clinton’s well-documented brain injuries could be causing even mundane daily tasks to seem difficult at times.

The photos re-emerged on social media on Sunday, but were taken during the South Carolina leg of the campaign in February. In January, Breitbart reported that Clinton was facing serious health issues stemming from a prior brain injury, citing law enforcement sources with inside connections to the campaign. Media outlets were awash with speculation when the former secretary of state took an unusually long bathroom break.

CNN's Brian Stelter, however, is denying the re-appearing photo has anything to do with Clinton's health, saying she just "slipped."

Although she is enjoying a lead over Republican candidate Donald Trump, panic over his attitudes and opinions is being offset by some Clinton episodes – particularly when she is caught lying while her staff scrambles to contain the damage.

READ MORE: Assange tells Green Party convention choosing Trump or Clinton like 'cholera or gonorrhea’ (VIDEO)

Recently, during a very extensive Q&A session, she was quoted as saying that FBI Director James Comey branded her account of the email scandal involving her use of a private server as “truthful” – something that Comey never did. Instead, he called her conduct “extremely careless.” Clinton later tried to explain that she “may have short-circuited” on her answer during the TV interview.

The former first lady is known for going more than 200 days without holding a formal press conference.

The latest Reuters/Getty photos of Hillary’s near-tumble are now fueling the trend #HillarysHealth on Twitter, which has provoked comments ranging from light-hearted to utterly inappropriate.