NBC News Faces Criticism For Story About Clinton’s ‘Coughing Attack’

Media observers accused NBC News of fanning the flames of right-wing conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton’s health with a story about her “coughing fit” at a Monday rally in Cleveland, Ohio.

“The frog in Clinton’s throat on Monday was one of the most aggressive she’s had during her 2016 run and left her almost unable to finish her remarks,” NBC wrote in a Monday post simply titled “Hillary Clinton Fights Back Coughing Attack.”

While NBC treated the coughing fit itself as headline news, other outlets, including TPM, zeroed in on the Democratic nominee’s quip that it was prompted by talking so much about Donald Trump.

“I’ve been talking so much,” Clinton told the audience in Cleveland. “Every time I think about Trump, I get allergic.”

Journalists and Clinton staffers pushed back against NBC on Twitter, accusing the network of making hay out of the presidential nominee coughing.

Clinton’s traveling press secretary, Nick Merrill, retweeted a comment from journalist Jonathan Alter saying “this ain’t news,” adding a note telling the NBC reporter behind the coughing fit story to “get a life.”

Dear @AndrewNBCNews–

Get a life.

Thanks.

Nick
https://t.co/Qbj6OI6Ypf

— Nick Merrill (@NickMerrill) September 6, 2016

Former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau called the story indefensible, while New York Times TV critic James Poniewozik wrote that Clinton coughing is only news in the “context of rumor, which NBC is now indulging.”

Is there anyone at NBC, or anywhere else, who’s willing to defend this story? https://t.co/cJ4pNRBTsR

— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) September 6, 2016

A person coughed. It’s news only bc of a context of rumor, which NBC is indulging. This is how institutions fail. https://t.co/Dtt3FPzNbF

— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) September 6, 2016

Right-wing outlets latched onto NBC’s report as further evidence of their conspiracy theories that Clinton is concealing a serious health issue. The Drudge Report, which reignited questions about the former secretary of state’s health in August when it circulated a months-old photo of her slipping on a staircase, devoted its splash to the six-sentence NBC article along with the headline “GETTING WORSE: CLINTON COUGH VIOLENTLY RETURNS. HEALTH STATUS UP IN THE AIR.”

On Tuesday morning, the site had updated its front page to another story about Clinton coughing, along with links to eight other stories about her health with headlines such as “Complete timeline of 2016 coughing fits” and “Thyroid problems linked to sudden cardiac death.”

Breitbart News published three separate stories about Clinton coughing in the last 24 hours, calling the Cleveland coughing fit “the worst yet.”

Fox News pundits also weighed in asking for “answers.” Notably, Sean Hannity, who devoted an entire week of coverage on his show to interviewing physicians who have never treated Clinton about possible diagnoses, including “brain damage” and “seizures,” was silent.

Donald Trump was apparently unsatisfied with the level of coverage, sending a tweet on Tuesday asking why the “mainstream media” had not covered the “massive ‘hacking’ or coughing attack.”

Mainstream media never covered Hillary’s massive “hacking”
or coughing attack, yet it is #1 trending. What’s up?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2016

Clinton’s doctor released a letter last July summarizing the Democratic nominee’s medical history and affirming that she was in “excellent health.”

Clinton attributed her coughing fit to allergies and long days on the campaign trail in a Tuesday press gaggle with reporters on her plane, saying, “I just upped my antihistamine.”