Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland declared Monday that Sen. Tim Kaine is more than capable of stepping in and serving as president if something were to happen to Hillary Clinton in the wake of her latest medical episode on Sunday.
While serving as Kaine’s warm-up act at a campaign event in Dayton, Ohio, Strickland, who is challenging Republican Sen. Rob Portman, said that Kaine would be qualified to serve in the role if it ever “became necessary.”
“I’ve known Sen. Kaine for quite some time. He is a wonderfully prepared person to be the vice president and to be the president, if that ever became necessary. He has a wonderful background of leadership, and Tim Kaine stands for the right things.
“And of course, our friend Secretary Hillary Clinton — magnificantly prepared to be president,” Strickland added.
Strickland later on told a gaggle of reporters that while he doesn’t think her ailment is anything “serious,” she needs to take time to recover from pneumonia, which her doctor announced she had Sunday evening.
“Secretary Clinton by all reports is a healthy person. A lot of people get pneumonia. That’s not something to be terribly concerned about,” Strickland told reporters.
“There have been efforts for a long time to imply that she is not healthy. I think that is part of her political enemies’ attempt to conjure up a rumor that could hurt her politically. I don’t think there’s any evidence she has any serious chronic health conditions that could make it difficult for her to serve as president,” Strickland said, adding that it’s important that she recovers from her illness.
After a close race against Strickland for most of the campaign, the Ohio Republican has started to pull away. According to the latest RealClearPolitics average, Portman leads by a 10.3-point margin over the former governor.
Strickland’s fall in the polls has come due in part to attacks from Republicans, particularly about his use of the “rainy day” funds while governor, as well as a few unforced errors. In August, Strickland argued that the late Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia died “at a good time” because of a vote he would have made in a March case involving unions, which ended up deadlocked at 4-4.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to the Strickland campaign for comment.
