Today co-host Matt Lauer spent most of a Tuesday interview with Chris Christie attacking the New Jersey governor's response to the Ebola crisis: "I want to read to you what Dr. Anthony Fauci from NIH said yesterday. He called the mandatory quarantine of all health care workers who come in contact with Ebola patients in West Africa and then return, 'draconian'....Is it possible, Governor you're on the wrong side of science here but the right side of public opinion?"
However, after slamming Christie, Lauer demanded that the Republican disavow any effort to use the Obama administration's poor Ebola response as a campaign issue: "All this takes place about a week from the midterm elections. A lot of people would like to infuse this situation with politics. Will you say to me right now that there is no political blame to be obsessed – assessed for what has happened with Ebola in this country at this point?"
At the top of the exchange, Lauer touted the plight of a nurse who was quarantined for three days after returning to New Jersey from treating Ebola patients in West Africa: "You say you put these new rules in effect to protect the people of New Jersey. Along comes Kaci Hickox, she complained loudly about the treatment she received. Did you get more than you bargained for with Miss Hickox?"
Lauer then praised the liberal ACLU attorney [1] Hickox hired to represent her: "Was she sent back to Maine because she no longer had a fever or any symptoms, or was she sent back to Maine because she went out and hired a talented lawyer like Norm Siegel and was threatening legal action against the state?"
In reply, Christie quipped: "Well, you used the word 'talented,' Matt, not me."
Throughout the segment, Christie ripped the Centers for Disease Control's response to the health crisis:
The fact is that the CDC has been incrementalist on this. This newest guidance, from my perspective, is incredibly confusing. And by the way, what's the difference when someone is considered to be high risk? You don't want them on public transportation, you don't want them at public gatherings and you want them to work from home. That sounds like quarantine to me, Matt....
And I think the way Dr. Fauci is responding, unfortunately, as are many people from the CDC, in a really hyperbolic way because they've been wrong before and now are incrementally taking steps towards the policy that we put in effect in New Jersey and now six other states have put in effect and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have put in effect. I mean, we're all wrong and they're right, Matt?...
And so, you know, I understand there's all kind of protestations from the CDC, but we want stricter things than what they have been willing to impose and now they're incrementally, Matt, moving towards our position....This is because they don't want to admit that we're right and they were wrong. I'm sorry about that.
Here is a full transcript of the October 28 interview:
7:00 AM ET TEASE:
MATT LAUER: Digging in. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie not backing down on his decision to quarantine people returning from Africa at high risk for Ebola. This, after a nurse complained of inhumane treatment while being kept in a tent for three days before she was sent home. This morning, Governor Christie speaks out in an exclusive live interview.
7:05 AM ET SEGMENT:
LAUER: New Jersey's Governor Chris Christie is with us now exclusively. Governor, good morning to you.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: Good morning, Matt. How are you this morning?
LAUER: I'm well, thank you. You say you put these new rules in effect to protect the people of New Jersey. Along comes Kaci Hickox, she complained loudly about the treatment she received. Did you get more than you bargained for with Miss Hickox?
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Chris Christie Speaks Out; New Jersey Governor On Quarantine Controversy]
CHRISTIE: No, listen, Matt, I can't imagine that anyone would find it to be an experience they were looking for to have to spend three days in a hospital. I understand that. But the fact is, Matt, that she presented at the airport as someone who had contact – direct contact with folks who were infected with the Ebola virus and then she became symptomatic. The fact is that person has to go to the hospital, has to be treated. CDC ordered her to be tested for the Ebola virus based upon her symptoms. And then when she was no longer symptomatic and the tests came back negative, she was released to continue her quarantine at home.
LAUER: Let me make sure I understand that. Was she sent back to Maine because she no longer had a fever or any symptoms, or was she sent back to Maine because she went out and hired a talented lawyer like Norm Siegel and was threatening legal action against the state?
CHRISTIE: Well, you used the word "talented," Matt, not me. And secondly, no, it had absolutely nothing to do with it. That's been the policy all along. If she had never presented with any symptoms, our policy would have been to send her back to Maine and to ask her to quarantine at home in Maine. It's because she presented with symptoms, and then she was tested, and that testing was ordered, Matt, by the CDC...
LAUER: Alright, and the policy stays in effect now-
CHRISTIE: ...in conjunction with the state of New Jersey.
LAUER: The policy remains in effect. I want to read to you what Dr. Anthony Fauci from NIH said yesterday. He called the mandatory quarantine of all health care workers who come in contact with Ebola patients in West Africa and then return, "draconian." He said you and Governor Cuomo got it wrong. Dr. Kent Sepkowitz, who's an infectious disease expert, said this, quote, "Christie and Cuomo are both really smart guys, yet they've decided to ignore science and evidence and decades of careful observations made by those brave enough to have gone to Africa to assist in the control of these epidemics." How do you respond to that?
CHRISTIE: Well, I'll respond to it this way, Matt. First off, now six other states have joined us as well, both Republican and Democratic governors, as has the United States military, as has Dr. Bruce Beutler, a Nobel Prize-winning physician, who this morning said he favors our policy.
The fact is that the CDC has been incrementalist on this. This newest guidance, from my perspective, is incredibly confusing. And by the way, what's the difference when someone is considered to be high risk? You don't want them on public transportation, you don't want them at public gatherings and you want them to work from home. That sounds like quarantine to me, Matt. And, listen we've had-
LAUER: Is it possible – is it possible, Governor...
CHRISTIE: Well, let me just finish this, Matt. We've had experience-
LAUER: ...you're on the wrong side of science here but the right side of public opinion?
CHRISTIE: No, I'm going to be on the right side of both, ultimately, Matt. And I understand that the CDC has been behind on this. Folks got infected in Texas because they were behind. And we're not going to have folks being infected in New Jersey and other states in this country. Governors ultimately have the responsibility to protect the public health and the public safety of the people within their borders when folks come in with this problem.
And Let's be clear, Matt. All we're talking about is folks who have been directly in contact, as health care workers, with folks who are actively infected with the virus...
LAUER: And yet, a lot of people-
CHRISTIE: ...not all travelers. And the reporting has been very sloppy on this, Matt.
LAUER: And yet, a lot of people I talk to, health care experts, say this, the best way to prevent new cases from Ebola from coming to the United States is to stop the outbreak in West Africa. You start attaching 21 days to the commitment of any health care worker who wants to go there and help the crisis there, isn't that going to have a chilling effect?
CHRISTIE: No, it's not, Matt. Because these folks go over there because they want to help and they want to make a difference. And we applaud them. But by the same token, when they're in direct contact with people actively with the Ebola virus, asking them to quarantine at home for 21 days, unless they're symptomatic, I don't think is draconian. And I think the way Dr. Fauci is responding, unfortunately, as are many people from the CDC, in a really hyperbolic way because they've been wrong before and now are incrementally taking steps towards the policy that we put in effect in New Jersey and now six other states have put in effect and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have put in effect. I mean, we're all wrong and they're right, Matt?
We're trying to be careful here. This is common sense. And the members of the American public believe it is common sense and we're not moving an inch. Our policy hasn't changed and our policy will not change.
LAUER: Real, real quickly, all this takes place about a week from the mid term elections. A lot of people would like to infuse this situation with politics. Will you say to me right now that there is no political blame to be obsessed – assessed for what has happened with Ebola in this country at this point?
CHRISTIE: Listen, Matt, I'm not talk – I'm not here to discuss political blame. And when you look at what has happened here in the different states that have adopted this, you've had both Republican and Democratic governors adopting this. Governor Dayton in Minnesota, Governor Cuomo in New York, along with me in New Jersey, Governor Scott, a Republican in Florida. Democratic governors in Virginia and Maryland, where I'm sitting this morning. The fact is you've got more Democratic governors doing this than Republican governors. This is a nonpartisan issue, Matt.
Here's the bottom line as governor. My first responsibility is to protect the public health and safety of the people of New Jersey. And I will not submit to any political pressure in doing anything less than I believe is necessary. We're now backed up by the American military and a Nobel Prize-winning doctor. And so, you know, I understand there's all kind of protestations from the CDC, but we want stricter things than what they have been willing to impose and now they're incrementally, Matt, moving towards our position.
What's the difference, Matt, between telling someone who's been a health care worker at high risk that they can't go into public places, they can't go on public transportation, and we want them to work from home – what's the difference between that and a quarantine?
This is because they don't want to admit that we're right and they were wrong. I'm sorry about that.
LAUER: Questions that will continue to be asked. Governor, I really appreciate your time this morning. Thank you so much.
CHRISTIE: Matt, thank you very much.
— Kyle Drennen is Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Kyle Drennen on Twitter. [2]