Hillary Clinton took the stage in her return to the campaign trail, shaking off the recent health controversy to James Brown’s upbeat classic “I Feel Good”. But the diligent denizens of the Internet were quick to point out the unfortunate irony to the appearance: James Brown died of pneumonia.

Conservative critics suddenly became music historians and mocked the former Secretary of State on social media, bringing up the cause of Brown’s 2006 death, and characterising the use of the song as a “gaffe”.

“Another misstep, Hillary comes out to James Brown ‘I Feel Good’,” one Twitter user wrote. “Sadly, James Brown died of pneumonia. Odd choice.”

The Democratic nominee made her first campaign stop since nearly fainting at a 9/11 memorial event on Sunday, which was later revealed to be the result of a walking pneumonia diagnosis two days earlier. The health scare sparked a media frenzy and criticism of Ms Clinton’s apparent lack of transparency on important matters, such as health.

US election: Hillary Clinton returns from illness

Donald Trump supporters latched on to the Ms Clinton’s illness, which many felt legitimised conspiracy theories that circulated amongst conservatives over previous weeks. Amidst calls for Ms Clinton’s complete health history, Mr Trump has still not released his medical records.

The New York businessman appeared on the Dr Oz daytime talk show to speak about his health. He apparently showed the host, Dr Mehmet Oz, the results of a recent physical, but did not disclose the full extent of his medical history.

Previously, the only documentation the campaign had released regarding Mr Trump’s health was a hastily written letter by Dr Harold Bornstein.

“If elected, Mr Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency,” Dr Bornstein wrote.

Still, Ms Clinton managed to find the silver lining in all the scrutiny. Speaking at the Black Women’s Agenda Symposium workshop in Washington, Ms Clinton jabbed the GOP for their scrutiny of her illness.