Rand, Ron Paul split over travel ban

Ron Paul on Monday said that calls for a ban on travel from West African countries affected by Ebola are primarily politically motivated just days after his son Sen. Rand Paul announced his support for one.

Appearing on Newsmax TVs Americas Forum with former Arizona Republican Rep. J.D. Hayworth, Ron Paul said he wouldnt support a travel ban. Right now, I would say a travel ban is politically motivated more than something done for medical purposes, the former Texas congressman and three-time presidential candidate told Hayworth.

Rand Paul, the Kentucky senator openly considering a 2016 presidential bid, said on a radio show last week that a temporary travel ban is only reasonable, BuzzFeed noted Monday.

(Also on POLITICO: Rubio to introduce travel ban bill)

Many lawmakers and elected officials, mostly Republicans, have called for the Obama administration to ban travel to the U.S. from West Africa, the region where Ebola is having the heaviest impact. On Monday, GOP Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida announced he would be introducing legislation to create a temporary ban on new visas from the affected West African countries. The White House and many public health experts have pushed back against a ban, saying it would be ineffective and potentially harmful and make it more difficult to root out the disease for good.

Ron Paul, a favorite within the libertarian community, said the death of Thomas Eric Duncan, who died earlier in October in the U.S. after apparently contracting Ebola in Liberia, was not enough to justify a travel ban. Were talking about one person thats died, and we want to close down the world travel system, and yet right now, it doesnt look anything like that kind of a problem, he said. He also noted that the expected U.S. death toll for influenza is far higher than that for Ebola.

When asked whether he agreed with his sons views on Ebola, Ron Paul added: Probably not exactly, but I havent dissected every single thing.

His comments come after an interview last week with Larry King, in which the former congressman called the response in the U.S. to Ebola hysterical and way overblown.

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Rand, Ron Paul split over travel ban