President Donald Trump announced a $15 billion steel mill for Iowa in the Oval Office Monday when an African reporter tried to turn the conversation toward a far more urgent crisis: the fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
But before she could finish describing what she had witnessed on the ground, Trump abruptly cut her off with a facetious question.
“How is Ebola going?”
The exchange came as Hariana Veras, an African journalist who covers the White House, Senate, Pentagon and State Department, discussed the continuing violence in eastern Congo and Rwanda’s role in the conflict.
Veras said she had just returned from the DRC and had seen that “Rwanda is still killing a lot of Congolese,” prompting Trump to shift the conversation from the war to Ebola.
In other words, the president didn’t have an answer, so he changed the subject.
One viewer reacted online, “Boy, that’s cold,” after the president interrupted the question with an unexpected reference to Ebola.
Others saw Trump’s question for what it was.
“Ah racism on a Monday — what a disrespectful jerk. Can’t wait until he is gone,” another commenter added.
Someone else suggested: “The reporter should have responded, ‘How’s dementia going?’”
And another observer simply said: “His brain is fried.”
The exchange began when Veras tried to describe what she had witnessed in Congo.
“I just came from the DRC… I witnessed again that Rwanda is still killing a lot of Congolese.”
Trump immediately interrupted.
“How is Ebola going?”
Veras answered without taking the bait or abandoning the subject.
“Ebola’s under control,” she said.
The question was striking because the conflict Veras was attempting to raise involves a long-running struggle in eastern Congo that has displaced millions of people and drawn Rwanda into an increasingly dangerous confrontation with the Congolese government and armed groups operating in the region.
The DRC has endured decades of conflict tied to its mineral wealth and unresolved tensions stemming from the 1994 Rwandan genocide, according to the Council on Foreign Relations’ Global Conflict Tracker.
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seized Goma and Bukavu in early 2025 and continue to hold significant territory in eastern Congo despite a U.S.-brokered peace agreement and ongoing Qatar-mediated talks. More than seven million people remain displaced, while Rwandan troops continue operating on the ground and key provisions of the peace agreement remain unimplemented.
The danger extends beyond the battlefield. The conflict could further spread through the Great Lakes region, where previous wars have caused enormous civilian suffering.
Congo and Rwanda have repeatedly accused each other of supporting armed groups, while Rwanda has maintained a significant military presence near the countries’ shared border. Rwanda and Uganda also have economic interests in Congolese mining, according to the supplied background material.
The humanitarian toll is enormous. More than seven million people remain internally displaced, while millions more face acute food insecurity and lack basic medical and security assistance. Current World Food Programme data shows that 26.5 million people in the DRC are facing acute food insecurity, making it the country most affected by food insecurity in the world. About 1.1 million Congolese nationals are also refugees in neighboring countries.
Ebola is also a real and serious issue in Congo, making Trump’s question more than a random reference to a disease. But the health crisis is distinct from the political and military conflict Veras was trying to raise.
According to the World Health Organization, the Bundibugyo virus outbreak had expanded to two additional health zones as of Sept. 23, bringing the total to 63 affected health zones across seven provinces. The DRC had reported 7,890 confirmed cases and 3,799 deaths, producing a crude case-fatality ratio of 48.1%.
WHO said new cases remained high nationally and warned that continued transmission, along with delays in diagnosis and treatment, was contributing to preventable illness and deaths.
Bundibugyo virus is one of three viruses known to cause large Ebola disease outbreaks, according to WHO. Ebola disease is rare but can be severe and fatal. While licensed vaccines and treatments are available for Ebola virus disease, there are no approved vaccines or specific treatments for Bundibugyo or Sudan virus diseases. Early intensive supportive care can improve survival.
For Veras, the Congo conflict is a subject she has continued to press publicly. In June, she launched the #PeaceForDRCNow campaign and has described her work covering Africa as a personal mission, according to her verified X account.
“My passion for Africa runs through my blood. It is in my voice, in my work, in my footsteps, and in my dreams. And until my very last breath, I will never stop telling the world that Africa is far more than what many see in the headlines.”
The president’s question came during a White House event focused on the planned Iowa steel mill, which Mesabi Metallics is expected to begin production by 2030. The facility is projected to produce 10 million tons of steel annually and create as many as 1,750 permanent jobs, while a related Minnesota iron ore mine is expected to produce about 7.5 million tons of iron each year.
Trump used the announcement to tout his steel tariffs, saying his 50% duties on foreign steel were helping bring investment and manufacturing back to the United States.
“Soon after my inauguration, I imposed powerful 50% tariffs on all foreign steel, and now our steel industry is roaring back to life,” the president said. “Everyone’s building their plant here because they don’t want to pay tariffs.”
