Clinton’s lead over Trump unaffected by health rumors

US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has retained her lead over Republican nominee Donald Trump despite a recent surge in rumors about her health, a new poll shows.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday, Clinton held a 4-point lead over the New York businessman, 42 percent to 38 percent.

In a four-way race with Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Clinton still remained ahead while Johnson slotted at third with 7 percent and Stein was the last with 2 percent.

The result is particularly interesting as it comes days after Clinton nearly collapsed and stumbled while getting into a van after abruptly leaving a 9/11 memorial on Sunday, refueling health rumors that have been haunting her since she suffered a blood clot in the brain four years ago.

The poll was conducted after the 68-year-old candidate announced she would take a few days off because of pneumonia.

If elected, 70-year-old Trump would be the oldest president to ever win the oval office, while Clinton, 68, would be the second oldest.

A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted earlier this week indicated that the issue of health would make “no difference” to how most American adults would vote.

The two candidates’ unpopularity still remained an issue, according to the poll, where one out of every five likely voters supported none of them for president.

Meanwhile, at the same point during the 2012 election cycle, about one out of every 10 likely voters wouldn't support then Democratic nominee Barack Obama or his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

A tumultuous presidential election cycle has painted Clinton and Trump as two of the most unpopular candidates to have ever run for the White House.

According to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll released in late August, Clinton’s unpopularity among American voters had reached a new high, putting her on par with her Republican rival.

Registered voters partaking in the survey gave near-identical unfavorable ratings for the two nominees -- 59 percent for Clinton and 60 percent for Trump.

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