The World Health Organization's declaration Sunday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern triggered a wave of panicked — and in some cases conspiratorial — reactions across the political spectrum.
Right-wing influencer Laura Loomer led the charge with a sprawling post on X that tied the outbreak to a recent scandal involving NIH virologist Vincent Munster, who was reportedly stopped at a U.S. airport with undeclared pathogen samples from the DRC.
"Were any smuggled samples related to this Bundibugyo strain?" Loomer demanded, calling for the firing of "Fauci holdovers," a ban on "foreign born nationals from working in American labs," and the shutdown of Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana. "The American people are sick of bio-terrorism cover-ups," she wrote, tagging President Donald Trump and senior White House staff.
Actor and conservative provocateur James Woods went even further, casting the outbreak as a political ploy. "The mainstream media lapdogs will ramp up the Ebola and Hantavirus 'outbreaks' for the midterms, all to promote mail-in balloting," he wrote.
"We've seen this before, guys."
Woods later added: "If this were any other area of the world where an untreatable deadly pandemic were brewing, any American president would instantly outlaw immigration from that hot zone. But, racism…"
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof offered a starkly different take, warning that Trump's dismantling of USAID and withdrawal from the WHO have left the region dangerously exposed.
"I hope Trump will reconsider his moves, work with WHO, and dispatch assistance to the Uganda/Congo border area," Kristof wrote.
Here we go. The mainstream nedia lapdogs will ramp up the Ebola and Hantavirus “outbreaks” for the midterms, all to promote mail-in balloting.
We’ve seen this before, guys. https://t.co/N3YXwsiMmB
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) May 17, 2026
