New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is again making a contrast between himself and another potential 2016 White House opponent, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.
This time, the issue is over creating mass hysteria over Ebola transmission fears. Christie stepped up to chide media and others for continuing to stoke worries, including from his own children,
The Washington Post noted of what could be a 2016 preview.
Christie and Paul haven't been simpatico over the years on several issues, the Post added, and Paul has slammed the White House over its mishandling of the virus crisis inside the U.S.
Paul, a physician, has also raised eyebrows — and earned Post "Pinocchios" — over what some see as his overstatements on transmission. "[T]his is an incredibly contagious disease," Paul said in an interview with a Kentucky radio station and
reported by Buzzfeed.
"People in full gloves and gowns are getting it. So really [the White House] needs to be honest this is a very transmissible disease."
Christie, without naming Paul directly, seemed to push back on the gaffes, noting he had to allay his own daughter's fears at home.
"The hysteria that’s going on in terms of the coverage, just the volume of coverage. Put aside the content. Just the volume of coverage is leading a lot of children to be concerned about this in a way that just isn’t proportional to the risk," Christie said during a speech at a Hackensack hospital Wednesday.
Later, Christie took to Twitter to pound his point home, again never mentioning Paul by name, but nonetheless "subtweeting," a
tactic pointed out by Bloomberg.
"Let me be very clear. New Jersey and its officials will not be in the business of stoking hysteria. #Ebola," he tweeted to his 463,000 followers, Bloomberg reported.
Christie also tweeted: "Also to people in public office, we need to be responsible and cautious when talking about Ebola. It's not helpful to add to the hysteria."
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