Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told Bloomberg politics he believes that the White House has been inaccurately depicting the risks of contracting Ebola.
“I think from the very beginning they haven’t been completely forthright with us,” said Paul. “They’ve so wanted to downplay this that they really I don’t think have been very accurate in their description of the disease.”
“For example,” Paul claimed, “They say ‘Don’t worry it’s only mixture of bodily fluids through direct contact.’ So what are you thinking? I’m thinking like AIDS, you don’t get AIDS at a cocktail party so my level of alarm goes down.”
“But it really isn’t like AIDs,” Paul continued. “And then they’ll say in a little lower voice, ‘Oh but direct contact can be three feet from somebody.’”
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that, since droplets can spray about three feet, being in prolonged contact without protective gear could pose a risk of contracting the disease—which makes Paul’s “cocktail party” comment perhaps a bit far-fetched.
Paul has been beating the Ebola-panic drums for the past few weeks, alleging that the U.S. government is making bad decisions in dealing with the disease because of “political correctness.”
Watch the interview below:
