Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump used an image of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton slipping on icy stairs to question her “strength” and “stamina" in a campaign ad. Conservative media previously used that photo to manufacture a fake controversy over Clinton’s health.

A Trump campaign ad released on October 10 featured a Getty Images photograph showing Clinton being assisted after slipping on stairs while campaigning in South Carolina in February. The ad’s narrator then claims, “Hillary Clinton doesn’t have the fortitude, strength, or stamina to lead in our world,” a nod to conspiratorial claims over Clinton’s health. Trump himself said in the presidential debate the day prior to the ad’s release, “She doesn't quit and she doesn't give up. … She is a fighter.” 

Conservative media previously circulated the South Carolina image to hype a fake and baseless controversy that Clinton’s “health could be taking a nose-dive.” Right-wing media have long obsessed over Clinton’s health and bodily functions, most recently exploiting (with the help of mainstream media) Clinton’s September pneumonia diagnosis to claim that “she is literally ready to drop dead.”