Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine Monday pushed back hard on GOP nominee Donald Trump's criticisms about her energy and stamina, saying she and her team came out of the Democratic National Campaign with an "enormous amount of energy and enthusiasm."
"We are now in full campaign mode, all the way to and through Election Day, and I feel very good about the organization we built," Clinton told ABC's David Muir, who interviewed both nominees and their running mates on Monday.
The interviews, to be shown in full on ABC's "World News Tonight" program Tuesday night, were promoted on the network's "Good Morning America" program.
Kaine, though, was more blunt about Trump's comments that Clinton does not have the drive or stamina for the presidency, and specifically about a comment that she doesn't "look presidential."
"That's an idiotic comment," the Virginia senator said. "I got added to this ticket about 11, 12 weeks, 100 days from the election. This great public servant has been on the field for 17 or 18 months, and it's hard to keep up with her," said the Virginia senator.
Clinton, 68, and Trump, 70, have not released full medical reports, but they have both released records from their physicians saying they are in good health. Further questions, though, are surfacing about Clinton after she suffered two coughing spells on Monday, including one that went on for about two minutes during a speech in Ohio.
Clinton also in the interview preview accused Trump of choking and being involved in a "diplomatic incident" in connection with his trip to Mexico, when differing reports came out concerning payment for his planned Mexico/United States border wall.
"I don't choke," Trump told Muir in his interview, conducted with his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. "She chokes. She's [responsible] for so many bad things that happened to our country, including the signing by her husband of NAFTA, which has drained our country of its jobs."
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The fact is, Trump said, "Mexico will pay for the wall. It was discussed that it wouldn't be discussed but they know my stance and I know their stance, and until I'm president, I'm not going to press anything very much but they fully know my stance. My stance is we're going to build a wall and Mexico's going to pay for the wall. It's very simple."
Clinton, in her interview, told Muir that Trump "came out saying one thing and the Mexican president [Enrique Peña Nieto] contradicted him almost immediately," said Clinton.
"He didn't raise it, so he did choke. He didn't know how to even communicate effectively with a head of state, and I think that's a pretty clear outcome from that trip," she said.
Trump and Pence, in the interview preview, also discussed the release of their tax returns. Pence said on Sunday he'll be releasing his returns this week, and told Muir Trump will be releasing his once an audit is complete.
"As far as mine are concerned the only one that cares is the press," said Pence. "It's not a big deal."
"I think people don't care," Trump added in.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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