Karl Rove suggests Hillary Clinton has brain damage
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images


Karl Rove has found another reason Hillary Clinton is supposedly unfit to be president: a mysterious fall that he thinks may have left her mentally impaired.
Speaking at a conference Monday night, Rove said Clinton, should she run for president in 2016, would need to level with voters about what happened to her after she took a tumble in December 2012, according to the New York Post.
"30 days in the hospital?," Rove said. "And when she reappears, she's wearing glasses that are only for people who have traumatic brain injury? We need to know what's up with that."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Clinton was diagnosed with a blood clot. And as The Washington Times notes, she only spent three days in a hospital — not 30 — though she later returned briefly for more tests.
A rep for Clinton responded: "Please assure Dr. Rove she's 100 percent."
Update: Rove on Tuesday walked back the remark in an appearance on Fox News, saying he never used the term "brain damage," and that he was merely talking about a "serious health episode" that would undoubtedly become an issue when reporters scrutinize Clinton's health history ahead of a White House bid. Clinton "would not be human if this didn't enter in as a consideration," he said, adding, "Look, she'll be 69 by the time of the 2016 election. She will be 77 if she serves two terms, and this ends up being an issue."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 11, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - shark-infested waters, Mother's Day, and more
-
5 fundamentally funny cartoons about the US Constitution
Cartoons Artists take on Sharpie edits, wear and tear, and more
-
In search of paradise in Thailand's western isles
The Week Recommends 'Unspoiled spots' remain, providing a fascinating insight into the past
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment