<National Report>Following a seemingly pleasant book signing in Los Angeles, during which former Secretary of State Clinton met her idol Chris Colfer of Glee fame, the aging politician became agitated while talking with a local freelance reporter. The reporter, Samuel Rosales-Avila of La Habra California, was writing a feature of Ms. Clinton focused on how a Clinton presidency would influence Hispanic Americans. Mr. Rosales-Avila had reached out to the Clinton organization on a whim and was shocked to hear back:
“I had emailed her press handler almost as a joke, asking to do a brief interview for a profile on Ms. Clinton in a Hispanic focused publication. They got back to me in about a week saying I could have 20 minutes with Ms. Clinton following her book signing in L.A.. I was astounded. I’m just a freelance journalist, and this kind of break can be a huge.”
Mr. Rosales-Avila was in for a shock, however, as the interview he was so excited to have landed began:
I started asking Ms. Clinton questions. Mostly policy stuff, really focused on immigration. She was responding, but seemed a little off. I figured she was just distracted and didn’t feel like it was worth her time. I kept going, but was starting to get frustrated. I decided I would ask her something I hadn’t really planned on. I said, ‘Ms. Clinton, some have suggested that you aren’t healthy enough or are too old to pursue the presidency. Do you have a comment on that?’. I knew I had crossed a line for her right away. She snapped back, ‘It’s my turn. I’ve done my time, and I deserve it.’ Then she stormed off. After she left, one of her handlers came up to me and told me he would need the recording of our interview and that it was now ‘off the record’. I was shocked and disappointed, but it was clear that it wasn’t a negotiation.
Ms. Clinton’s remarks to Mr. Rosales-Avila mark a significant divergence from the carefully orchestrated silence that the Clinton organization has been keeping on her presidential plans. Neuroscientist and aging expert Dr. Philip Kao suggests that this angry reaction and sudden divergence from her manicured talking points may be an early sign of dementia:
Ms. Clinton is a disciplined, seasoned politician. It is really surprising to me that she would slip up like that in such a low stakes environment. As a doctor, that causes me some concern that there may be something wrong. This is an individual who has spent most of her life perfecting her public persona and has given thousands of interviews. A slip up like this really indicates to me that some faculties may be declining. These minor events of confusion and anger are often the first signs of dementia.
The Clinton organization has declined to comment on the situation and has not confirmed or denied that Ms. Clinton met with Mr. Rosales-Avila following her book signing in Los Angeles. Their official statement at the time of press was that “Ms. Clinton thoroughly enjoyed meeting the citizens of L.A., and was especially excited to meet her hero Chris Colfer.”
