Getty Trump: 'Do you think Hillary could stand up here for an hour?'

CANTON, Ohio — After seeding the conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton is in failing health, Donald Trump has been judiciously avoiding the topic of her bout with pneumonia.

But before a raucous crowd here Wednesday night, he veered off the teleprompter several times — and, at one point, tiptoed right up to the topic his advisers have urged him to avoid as he riffed about the rigors of campaigning the way he does.


"You think this is easy? In this beautiful room that is 122 degrees," Trump said, even though the arena was notably chillier — a number of people wore jackets — than his usual venues. "It is hot and it is always hot when I perform, because the crowds are so big, these rooms were not designed for this kind of crowd.

"I don't know folks, do you think Hillary could stand up here for an hour?"

The crowd, which stood for the first 20 minutes of his speech and cheered seemingly every line, roared.

Since Clinton's diagnosis was revealed after she nearly collapsed last Sunday leaving the 9/11 memorial in Lower Manhattan, the candidate's health has dominated the news. Trump's, too, has been in the spotlight. Trump, however, has stayed away from talking about it, instead opting to blast Clinton over her comment describing half of his supporters as "deplorables" — until Wednesday night.

As he was nearing the end of his remarks, he described his journey as a candidate and how he vanquished 16 primary rivals.

"Now we have one left," he said, referencing Clinton — and her health — again. "And in all fairness, she's lying in bed.

"She's lying in bed getting better and we want her better," he said. "We want her back on the trail."

