Those who dare to criticize President Obama and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the U.S. response to Ebola are guilty of racism, pure and simple, MSNBC talking heads said.
Specifically, the likes of Republican lawmakers, Fox News pundit Bill O’Reilly and conservative radio talk show host Glenn Beck are possessed of “not even thinly-veiled racism,” said MSNBC host Alex Wagner, The Daily Caller reported.
Mr. O’Reilly has called for the CDC’s chief to resign, while others in the Republican and conservative camps have roundly criticized Mr. Obama for failing to issue a travel ban on incoming fliers from Ebola-ridden nations.
“That stuff is incredible,” Mr. Wagner told co-host Joy Reid, The Daily Caller reported. “He is their president, Joy. I mean, it’s not even thinly-veiled racism at this point.”
Ms. Reid said similarly.
“No, and I’m glad you called it a racial stew because it is kind of like the perfect storm. You have an African, God forbid, [who] flies into the United States and you have all of these sort of issues of immigration sort of thrown into it.”
Ms. Reid particularly jabbed at Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s recent mention of border security and the need to tighten up border crossings because of Ebola.
“I couldn’t believe that Marsha Blackburn brought the border into it because I hate to tell you, the planes don’t walk over the border with the Guatemalan children — they fly into the airport,” Ms. Reid said, The Daily Caller reported.
Ms. Reid also slammed Mr. O’Reilly’s idea of a travel ban, saying sarcastically that “of course, somehow the Obama administration should have [gone] in the plane and picked out all of the African nationals to make sure they couldn’t get in,” The Daily Caller reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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