Trump Asks African Reporter How Ebola Is Going
Donald Trump’s response to the ongoing Rwanda-Congo conflict involved deflecting to the Ebola virus before shutting down the line of questioning entirely.
The question came from White House correspondent Hariana Verás, the first African journalist accredited to the White House.
“She loves Africa, she always asks about Africa. She never talks about any other place,” Trump said before hearing Verás’s question. “Good job. Go ahead.”
“You, among many other administrations … you are the only one who started to do something to end the 30-year war in the [Democratic Republic of Congo],” said Verás, referring to the peace agreement Trump brokered between the presidents of Congo and Rwanda at the White House last December and again in March.
The fighting has continued since then as most of the peace deal remains unimplemented. Meanwhile, more than seven million people have been displaced as a result of the worsening conflict, according to the Center on Foreign Relations.
“Rwanda is still violating,” Verás continued, probing if Trump intended to do anything about the shattered arrangement.
“Yeah, we’re going to stop it, if there is a violation we know about it,” Trump shrugged. “We ended the war with Congo and Rwanda, and they both signed it and both agreed, so, well look, I just heard about it a little while ago, if there’s a problem we’ll stop it.”
But Verás wasn’t satisfied by the president’s response.
“Mr. President, I just came from the DRC. I was there a month ago. I witnessed, again, Rwanda still killing a lot of Congolese,” Verás pressed.
“And you witnessed that?” Trump asked.
“Yes, Mr. President,” Verás continued. “And I have evidence.”
That apparently inspired Trump to switch gears.
“How is Ebola going?” Trump retorted, bringing up the regional viral crisis aggravated by federal cuts to USAID earlier this year.
“Oh, Ebola is under control,” Verás said. “I spoke with the director of the World Health Organization at the [United Nations], and he said it is under control. But still the country needs some help to fight Ebola. But still, the biggest problem is the war.”
“I’ll make sure it works out,” Trump mumbled. “That’s what I do. I make sure things work out.”
Then he pivoted to the next reporter.
Now, how do you feel, @HarianaVeras? 🤣🤣
Don’t you see how ridiculous you look? Tshisekedi’s money won’t make you relevant or get you heard.
——-Hariana Verás: Rwanda is still killing people in Congo.
Trump: How is Ebola going?
Hariana Verás: Ebola’s under control…..I… pic.twitter.com/8wp1Elb56h
— Fabrice Rugumire (@FabRugumire) September 28, 2026
