How can one man go through and flip five or six waves of security . How can we have another man get on an elevator with the president with a gun . How can all these breaches happen . We want to know. We want our president protected. Thanks for watching. Im al sharpton. Hardball starts right now. Its here. And this is hardball. Good evening, im Chris Matthews in washington. One of the worlds most terrifying diseases has reached u. S. Shores. The cdc has confirmed the first ever case of ebola diagnosed here in the United States. Ive got some questions id like answered tonight, especially after the president said this just two weeks ago. I want the American People to
know that our experts here at the cdc and across our government agree that the chances of an Ebola Outbreak here in the United States are extremely low. In the unlikely event that someone with ebola does reach our shores, weve taken new measures so that were prepared here at home. Weve reached that unlikely event as of today. Heres what we know. An individual traveling from liberia to the United States was tested positive for the disease. Theyre currently in strict isolation at a hospital in dallas. The patient, an adult male, arrived in the u. S. On september 20th. A week ago he began developing symptoms. On sunday he was admitted to the hospital. President obama has been briefed by the cdc which held a press Conference Today to disclose the case. The doctor said Health Officials were taking swift action to prevent the spread of the disease. He says they have identified everyone the patient may have
had contact with while infectious and theyre confident it will not lead to an outbreak here in the u. S. The bottom line here is that i have no doubt that we will control this importation, or this case of ebola, so that it does not spread widely in this country. It is certainly possible that someone who had contact with this individual, a Family Member or other individual could develop ebola in the coming weeks. But theres no doubt in my mind, that we will stop it here. A reporter with nbc news joins us from dallas. A former White House Health care adviser and fellow at the center for american progress. And the Health Care Editor for politico. Dr. Manuel, how did this guy who is here, apparently from liberia, a liberian national, apparently. Were not sure. But certainly not an american. How did he get ebola, and if he
got it, why wasnt that information picked up at the airport . Apparently he had his temperature taken on takeoff . Did he know that he was exposed to it . Did he know he might have it and somehow get through the United States immigration, and everything else, and just walk into the country like this . Chris, its an important thing. You get exposed and theres a latent period where youre unaware that you have the disease and youre also not infectious at that period. Thats obviously what happened. Once he got to the United States, once that incubation period is up, he began to feel symptoms and went to the hospital. Why do we let somebody in the country during their incubation period . If theyve been exposed to whatever secretions, why do we let the person in until its clear the symptoms are not going to turn up, when you say it has an incubation period . First of all, we dont have enough information to know whether he knew he had contact
with someone who had ebola and was coming to the states because he had it. Is that reasonable . That a person wouldnt know that . Well, it is reasonable. Because lots of people can touch other people who could be infected but not infectious, but not having severe symptoms. So i think its quite reasonable. His temperature was normal. He got on the plane and he came to the United States. And i think they, you know, in texas, they were clearly prepared and i think they it sounds like theyve done a very good job. I think what tom frieden said was right. You do Contact Tracing for everyone hes contacted, then make sure that they dont have it. And its quite easily contained in the United States. We know that, chris, because in nigeria theyve been able to contain it, and their Health System is better than liberia and sierra leone, but nowhere near the United States. So im just trying to follow the logic here. Everybodys being told, dont worry unless they have the
infectious symptoms, you can see them, that you dont have to worry about catching them. Yet this guy picked up the disease apparently from somebody who did not have the infectious symptoms. Again, dont hypothesize. We just dont know. We have no idea what he did or didnt do and how he got it. Im sure thats going to be Vital Information to try to understand the transmission, but the idea that theres going to be a widespread outbreak here, i think is just, again, its a bit of fear mongering. We have a single case. This is not a yeah, yeah, but im just going back to the president s statement and that is that the president said it would be unlikely if we had a case in this country. Unlikely to even have one case. You want to see the tape again. He said there wouldnt be an Ebola Outbreak. He said in the unlikely case someone brings it here. In the unlikely case. Theyve done it. Were living in the world of the unlikely already. Im not fear mongering. Im stating the facts and i wonder if everybody else is. Youre right, its an unlikely case, but again, we need to put it in perspective. This isnt easily transmitted. Its not like the flu. Its not like measles or chickenpox. You need contact with bodily fluids, and we have a Health System thats much better prepared to prevent that from happening once the person is in the Health System. Now, as you point out, before you get into the Health System, there arene chances where your feeling sick, its a fever, muscle aches, where you could be infectious, and for those things, we need good Contact Tracing. Thats why we have the cdc and Good Public Health measures. I would emphasize, chris, this if any americans thought whatever happens over there, its irrelevant to us, we dont have to care what happens in west africa. This shows you thats simply a false statement. While were not at severe risk
of an Ebola Outbreak here, what happens over there does matter to us for our health, but also in terms of failed states, bad problems in other countries that could affect us. We really do need to be much more engaged in other countries and making sure their Health Systems can work and solve these kinds of problems. Let me go do joann from politico. The president said it was unlikely it would reach these shores. It has reached these shores. My problem, this fella, an adult male, caught the disease and didnt know it, and came here and only discovered when he got here if he had it. But must have realized he came in contact with somebody because he got it. The fact is, he has the disease. It was unlikely that he would be here with it, but hes here and he got it from someone who didnt have the smymptoms, but e got it from them. Thats why people are worried
that they could get it from this guy, in the incubation period. What do we know . The cdc was explicit they did not believe there was any threat to the people on the plane with him. That was something at the press conference they said. Theyre not worried about that. Its that early stage when he began to get sick, when he was in the United States between the time he started feeling sick and he ended up in the hospital, thats the interval theyre worried about, and thats where theyre doing the Contact Tracing including the family and whoever else he came in contact with. We dont know what he knew he was exposed or sick. Thats not anything that we can say happened with certainty. We have not sealed off liberia. Planes and people are coming back and forth. The issue now is containment. There are two issues for Public Health. Find out who he was in touch with, who had close contact, who may be a threat. Make sure theyre taken care of and make sure they dont infect anybody else if they get sick. The other thing, the public panic. Its a scary disease. Its not something anyone wants here. But its not like you sneeze and youre across the room and somebody drops dead. You see the contradiction thats being sold out there. You cant get it except from somebody with obvious symptoms. And were told this guy may not know he has it, but you can only catch it from somebody with obvious symptoms. You can have high fever, muscle aches, that are similar to the flu, similar to lots of other viruses. And that is the in monrovia . Its a situation where you can be infectious. But you wouldnt think that would be a suspicion on his part if hes in monrovia, liberia, and has the symptoms of ebola and doesnt think he has ebola . He didnt have symptoms when he boarded the plane. Thats clear now. The person he had contact
with did. Youre not following my logic. Hes in contact with somebody. He got ebola from. Thats all im going back to. How did he get it without knowing he was getting it . If you can only get it from someone with obvious symptoms. Have you ever gotten a cold in the office when someone else was around and they sneezed once and might have had a fever, but it doesnt seem like it was that serious . I think this isnt that kind of situation. But people can have symptoms without you knowing it. And thats the worry. The reason we can be assured here that this isnt going to be a major outbreak, we have a cdc that can do very good contact traces. We have a very good Health System that takes universal precautions on all patients, with the gloves. And youre not regularly in contact with peoples bodily fluids the way its much more common in liberia. Those things distinguish it. And i dont think we should get
into a panic because we were reassured it would never be in the United States. The president said it was unlikely. It has happened. Its here. Heres more from cdc director, dr. Thomas frieden, who has addressed the media just an hour ago. Here he is. Ebola is a scary disease, because of the severity of illness it causes. And were really hoping for the recovery of this individual. At the same time, were stopping it in its tracks in this country. We can do that because of two things. Strong health care Infection Control that stopped the spread of ebola. And strong core Public Health functions that trace contacts, track contacts, isolate them if they have any symptoms, and stop the chain of transmission. Were stopping this in its tracks. What are we missing in this discussion so far, charles . Well, the dallas county
health department began even before the cdc announced. The hospital announced it may have a patient in dallas. The county began preparations for this. The good news, the doctors in charge of the investigation here say this is not africa, that we have a great infrastructure and ability to deal with this outbreak. Hes in a hospital now, in strict isolation. Its a modern facility, the doctors know what theyre doing, according to the experts here, and we just have to wait and see how this patient plays out. But you ask a very good question. What about this man . What was he doing in liberia in the days before he left . Was he exposed to it and not know it. Did he have a Family Member who died from it . And maybe tried to get to this country for treatment. Those are questions we dont know. It will come out in time, but
those are good questions youre asking. And what happens in africa, doesnt stay in africa. As they say about las vegas in a much less serious fashion. Thank you all for joining us. Coming up n, the secret Service Director was pummelled today by members of congress who want answers about the safety of our president and his family. It was a bipartisan pummelling, i must say. Then the hardball round table, digs into the ebola threat and the stunning missteps, and they keep coming, from the secret service that left the president vulnerable. Also mitt romney goes on record that he is eyeing, believe it or not, another run for the white house. Maybe because the republican field doesnt look like much. At this point, romney could be the partys best hope at taking down Hillary Clinton in 2016. He seems to know it. This is hardball, the place for politics. Uces up here creates Something Else as well uces up here jobs all over america. Engineering and innovation jobs. Advanced Safety Systems technology. Shipping and manufacturing. Across the United States, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. When we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. Thats not a coincidence. Its one more part of our commitment to america. The choice has. Made for you when it comes to paper or plastic in california. Governor jerry brown signed into law the countrys first statewide ban on single use plastic bag. It prohibits Grocery Stores and pharmacies from using single use plastic bags after july of 2015. The following years, Liquor Stores and Convenience Stores will be required to follow suit. No more plastic bags out there. The governor said even though his state is the first to take this step, hes sure it wont be the last. Well be right back. Thats why we use fedex one rate. Their flat rate shipping. Exactly. It makes us look topnotch but we know its affordable. [ garage door opening ] [ sighs ] honey, havent i asked you to please use the we dont have a reception entrance. [ male announcer ] ship a pak via Fedex Express saver®
for as low as 7. 50. [ male announcer ] ship a pak via Fedex Express saver® fithen a Little Family fun. With breakfast for 4 and wifi. Join us for the family fun package. Doubletree by hilton. Where the Little Things mean everything. Welcome back to hardball. Get this. And dont ever forget it. This is a dangerous country. Especially for president s. Roosevelt was shot in the chest. Harry truman was the target of a shooting by two puerto rican
nationalists at blair house. Gerald ford was shot at twice in one month, first at the california state capital and then just a few weeks later in san francisco. Ronald reagan was shot by John Hinckley out of the washington hilton and barely survived. A the cold fact is, an american president stands in the line of fire. He will either be protected well in that line, or he will die. Either the secret service is effective and lucky or the president and the country will suffer the consequences. Those are the facts. The question, why we cant get straight answers from the head of the secret service is a serious one. A deranged man raced into the white house. So is the even more bizarre news that a man could fire his rifle from his car into a white house window multiple times and not have that fact even recorded. Late today, news of a another incident. The Washington Post reports an
armed contractor with a criminal record was in an elevator with president obama during a trip to atlanta. Jerry connelly is on the Oversight Committee that led todays hearing questioning the secret Service Director. And Kristin Welker joins us as well. What are we missing . You were there, went through the hearings. This thing seems bizarrely broken. Its actually jawdropping. I mean, if you put this in a bad story, it would make for a bad novel in washington. And yet it really happened. You know how that guy, omar gonzalez, how he got across the lawn . Theres a lot of space that, and all the way to the back of the white house . It was a series of failures. He wasnt detained before he got over the fence, on the lawn. He wasnt detained getting into the white house. The door was unlocked and
unguarded and he roamed around the white house for some time before being tackled. The secret Service Statement left the impression that the fence jumper was apprehended quickly. Something me now know was true. That description leaves the impression to anybody listening now that he was tackled after he walked steps through the door. Were you lying to the American People . Again, i look forward to having an open discussion today. Thank you. Were you lying to the American People, or were you misled about where the intruder was tackled . Were conducting an ongoing investigation. That was robo talk. Wasnt too useful. She wasnt answering my questions and i think a lot of lawmakers felt as though she was deflecting the questions that she had about that discrepancy. Why the initial report that he was tackled right inside the door, why initially did we think that he was unarmed and then these revelations that he, in fact, did have a three and a half inch knife with him. And as we know now, he ran the length of the east room and wasnt tackled until he got to the green room door. And were learning that guard there had just gotten off duty, he was heading home for the night. Thats a key point. You had shift changes going on. The president ha