It's just the kind of thing that if it happens to you and you're a busy, active person, you keep moving forward,” Clinton said. | Getty Clinton on pneumonia: ‘I just didn't think it was going to be that big a deal’

Hillary Clinton downplayed her recent health scare as a campaign issue Monday during a call-in interview on CNN, pointing to her released medical records and demanding increased scrutiny of opponent Donald Trump.

“I just didn't think it was going to be that big a deal,” Clinton said to CNN’s Anderson Cooper when asked why she opted to keep her Friday pneumonia diagnosis hidden until Sunday. “It's just the kind of thing that if it happens to you and you're a busy, active person, you keep moving forward.”


The Democratic nominee has been the recipient of intense criticism since Sunday morning, where she stumbled while exiting a memorial service in New York City for the Sept. 11 attacks. The Clinton campaign later said Clinton became “overheated” and “dehydrated” causing her to leave the event.

Asked about husband Bill Clinton’s assertion earlier Monday that she “rarely” became extremely dehydrated as she did Sunday except “on more than one occasion,” the Democratic nominee was confronted by Cooper to quantify how often these incidents occur.

“Oh, I think really only twice that I can recall,” Clinton said. “You know, it is something that has occurred a few times over the course of my life, and I'm aware of it and usually can avoid it.”

Clinton said she did not lose consciousness during the Sunday incident and also addressed concerns raise by conservative figures over recent coughing fits she’d had on the campaign trail, saying she had initially believed they were allergies.

“Well, it sure seemed like it was an allergy because I've had allergies, seasonal allergies off and on, and it does come with a cough,” she said. “I did go to see my doctor and that's when I was diagnosed with pneumonia.”

Clinton, who said she’s feeling “much better,” then challenged Trump to be held to the same level of scrutiny as herself.

“I think it's fair to say, Anderson, that people know more about me than almost anyone in public life. They've got 40 years of my tax returns, tens of thousands of emails, a detailed medical letter report, all kinds of personal details,” she said. “You know, compare everything you know about me with my opponent. I think it's time he met the same level of disclosure that I have for years.”

The former secretary of state reiterated her promise to release further medical documents following Sunday’s incident, and stated her intention to return to the campaign trail “in the next couple of days.”

Questioning Trump’s foreign investments and business relationships, Clinton turned offensive following a weekend of explaining campaign mishaps.

“We'll add more information, but I've already released information about my health in campaign, as well as nearly 40 years of tax returns,” she said. “We've already met a high standard of transparency, and we know the least about Donald Trump of any candidate in recent American history.”