President Barack Obama took on the critics of his administration's Ebola response Wednesday, saying that American leadership is what is needed to wipe out the deadly virus still plaguing three countries in West Africa.
Speaking from the White House, where he was backed by several doctors and nurses who have either treated Ebola patients in Africa or are planning to do so shortly, Obama said that those who volunteer to go to Africa are sacrificing and should be seen as heroes.
"They deserve to be treated with dignity and with respect," Obama said, in an apparent swipe at the treatment of
nurse Kaci Hickox, who was quarantined inside a tent in New Jersey after arriving on a flight back from treating Ebola patients. She has shown no symptoms of Ebola and has so far tested negative for the virus.
The medical professionals are "a shining example of what America means to the world, of what is possible when America leads," Obama said.
"When I hear people talking about American leadership and then are promoting policies that would avoid leadership and have us running in the opposite direction and hiding under the covers it makes me a little frustrated," the president said. "America has never been defined by fear."