Jeb Bush Blasts Obama's 'Incompetent' Response to Ebola in the US
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has criticized President Barack Obama's "incompetent" response to Ebola virus cases in the U.S., arguing that the government's failure to provide clarity created fear among the public. During a speech on Tuesday about the Ebola response, however, the president pointed out that all seven Americans treated for the virus have survived.
"It looked very incompetent to begin with, and that fueled fears that may not be justified," Bush said during an appearance at Vanderbilt University, The Associated Press reported. "And now you have states that are legitimately acting on their concerns, creating a lot more confusion than is necessary."
Some states, like New Jersey, have implemented strict quarantine policies in response to reported Ebola cases, leading to one nurse who was placed under mandatory quarantine to argue that her 'basic human rights' were violated.
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Kaci Hickox, who returned from treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone last week, revealed that she was quarantined for 21 days at the University Hospital in Newark despite testing negative for the disease.
"This is an extreme that is really unacceptable, and I feel like my basic human rights have been violated," Hickox told CNN's Candy Crowley on "State of the Union" on Sunday.
Obama said in his White House speech that only two people have so far contracted Ebola on U.S. soil — namely the two Dallas nurses who treated Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan who contracted the virus in West Africa.
"We know that the best way to protect Americans ultimately is going to stop this outbreak at the source," Obama said. "And I just had the privilege of speaking with some of the men and women who are working to do just that — our disaster assistance response team on the ground in West Africa."
The U.S. has sent over 3,000 medical personnel into West Africa to combat the spread of the outbreak, which has killed close to 5,000 people.
"These are the folks that, from the minute that we saw this Ebola outbreak growing larger than we had seen traditionally, were deployed, were on the ground, and were helping to coordinate the countries where the outbreak is happening to make sure that the response was effective," Obama continued.
"And it's typical of what America does best — when others are in trouble, when disease or disaster strikes, Americans help. And no other nation is doing as much to make sure that we contain and ultimately eliminate this outbreak than America."
The president shared that he's confident that the virus will be contained, but urged Americans to stay vigilant and work together. He added that as important as it is that the U.S. handles the Ebola cases on its own soil, the country cannot shy away from helping West Africa tackle the epicenter of the outbreak.
"America, in the end, is not defined by fear. That's not who we are. America is defined by possibility. And when we see a problem and we see a challenge, then we fix it. We don't just react based on our fears," Obama said.
Bush argued, however, that his office handled an anthrax scare in Florida in 2001 better than Obama has been able to handle Ebola.
"We gave people a sense of calm, what the plan was," Bush said. "We talked in plainspoken English. We were totally engaged."
