Clinton, back on trail, looks to break Trump momentum

WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton has returned to the White House campaign trail seeking to regain the momentum lost to Donald Trump during her battle with pneumonia, especially in the country’s key battleground states. Clinton rejoined the race at a critical moment, as polls show the lead she has held over Trump narrowing sharply. One survey gave her just a two-point margin, down sharply in a matter of weeks. The former secretary of state, 68, signaled she was raring to go, quickly going on the attack Thursday against her Republican rival at a rally in North Carolina and later in Washington at a celebration marking Hispanic Heritage Month. “It’s great to be back on the campaign trail,” Clinton told cheering supporters in Greensboro, North Carolina — a key battleground state. “With two months to go until election day, sitting at home is the last place I wanted to be,” she added. “The heat is on.” She announced stops for next week in states where Trump has started closing the gap, including Florida — a must-win for both candidates. Her cough was gone, but her voice still seemed scratchy at times. But Trump didn’t skip a beat, pummeling her economic record and that of President Barack Obama — and releasing new medical records showing the 70-year-old billionaire real estate mogul to be in “excellent physical health.” The presidential hopefuls are going to pound the pavement in the 10 days to come before their first of three highly anticipated debates on Sept. 26 in New York. Clinton fell ill on Sunday during a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York, where she was seen stumbling limp-legged into her vehicle, an episode that raised tough questions about her overall health and her campaign’s transparency. With the candidates’ well-being suddenly at the forefront of the campaign, Clinton looked to head off further scrutiny by releasing new medical records Wednesday indicating that she was “fit to serve” as president. — AFP