CDC Announces First Case Of Ebola Diagnosed In United States

CDC: First Case Of Ebola Found In Texas. In a September 30 joint press release with the Texas Health Department, the CDC confirmed that the first case of Ebola had been diagnosed in the United States earlier in the day:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed today, through laboratory tests, the first case of Ebola to be diagnosed in the United States in a person who had traveled to Dallas, Texas from Liberia. The patient did not have symptoms when leaving West Africa, but developed symptoms approximately four days after arriving in the U.S. on Sept. 20. [Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 9/30/14]

Right-Wing Media Jump To Politicize Diagnosis

Fox Host To CDC Director: Given That You're Part Of Obama Administration, “Why Should We Believe You” On Ebola Facts? On Fox & Friends, host Steve Doocy asked CDC Director Tom Frieden why he should be trusted to talk about the Ebola virus given his role in the Obama administration:

DOOCY: One other theme we got on the email, Doctor, was this -- and this is a political thing, but you're part of the administration. They feel that the administration has misled a lot of people on a lot of things. Why should we believe you when you're telling us this stuff? [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 10/1/14]

Laura Ingraham Wondered If We Should “Believe What The Government Is Telling Us About Ebola,” Considering What It Said About Obamacare. During the October 1 edition of her radio show, Laura Ingraham asked if listeners “believe what the government is telling us about Ebola,” pointing to a “crisis in leadership, in confidence, in credibility, in competence in our nation.” Discussing what she deemed to be the country's “biological incapability of telling the truth,” Ingraham tied the Ebola diagnosis to the Affordable Care Act, claiming that “none of” what the government said about Obamacare has come true. [Courtside Entertainment Group, The Laura Ingraham Show, 10/1/14]

Ingraham: Obama's “Core Ties To The African Continent” Are Influencing His Response To Ebola And Endangering U.S. Later on her radio program, Ingraham accused Obama of having political reasons for failing “to stop these planes from coming in from Sierra Leone.” She went on: “Obama, familial connection with Africa. He has an enormous amount of, I think, you know, core ties to the African continent. He's mindful of his own family history there. ... Come on, it doesn't make any sense not to have stopped these flights from coming in.” [Courtside Entertainment Group, The Laura Ingraham Show, 10/1/14]

Right-Wing Blogger Jim Hoft: “Obama Defers Deportation of Liberians On Same Day TX Ebola Patient Enters Hospital.” On his Gateway Pundit blog, Jim Hoft linked the Ebola case to Obama's decision to defer deportation proceedings for Liberian refugees, writing, “Barack Obama issued a presidential memorandum on September 26th to defer deportations of Liberians, the same day the Texas Ebola patient first visited the hospital.” [GatewayPundit.com, 10/1/14]

Fox's Tantaros: Despite What CDC Says, The Government Can't Handle Ebola If It “Can't Even Build A Website.” During the October 1 edition of Fox News' Outnumbered, co-host Andrea Tantaros asserted her belief that the United States isn't “as prepared as we think we are” to handle Ebola because “the government can't even build a website. So I do have doubts and questions.” [Fox News, Outnumbered, 10/1/14] 

Fox's Katie Pavlich: “Obama Sending Troops To Combat Ebola Worked Out Really Well.” In a September 30 tweet, Fox News contributor and Townhall.com editor Katie Pavlich tied the Ebola diagnosis in Texas to the Obama administration's earlier efforts to combat the virus in Africa:

Well, Obama sending troops to combat Ebola worked out really well.

-- Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) September 30, 2014

 [Twitter.com, 9/30/14]

Fox's Tammy Bruce: “The Obama Legacy Continues” With Ebola Diagnosis. In a September 30 tweet, Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce discussed the CDC's confirmation of an Ebola diagnosis by asserting that it was part of the “Obama legacy.” 

The Obama legacy continues. “CDC Confirms Patient In Dallas Has The Ebola Virus” http://t.co/g6hy3vulSu

-- Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) September 30, 2014

[Twitter.com, 9/30/14]