President Obama’s former press secretary Jay Carney suggested Thursday that the White House should impose travel restrictions to fight Ebola, despite the administration again saying such a measure is out of the question.
“I think substantive actions need to be taken, and they may involve flight restrictions, they may involve moving all patients to specific hospitals in the country that can handle Ebola, and I think those would be wise decisions to make,” Mr. Carney said on CNN, Politico reported.
“I’m not an expert, but I think that would demonstrate a level of seriousness in response to this that is merited at this point,” he added. “You don’t get to choose the crises that you have to deal with when you’re president, all of these things land on your doorstep and I think that in the end this is not a political issue, it’s an issue that has to be handled… The political reality is this is always going to hurt the incumbent White House.”
The president has canceled his second day of fundraising and campaigning to remain in D.C. and tackle the Ebola crisis.
Some lawmakers are calling for flight bans from West Africa, but White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest argued during a press conference Wednesday that such a measure “would prevent the expeditious flow of personnel and equipment into the region.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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