What do the two presidents have in common?
Yes, they were both Republicans.
Yes, they both tanked the economy.
But neither took diseases seriously. Reagan: HIV/AIDS. Trump: Ebola. Ebola is not like COVID; it doesn’t spread like wildfire but more like AIDS... slowly. But it is still highly contagious!
AP NewsSeptember 28, 2026The number of confirmed cases of Ebola virus in Congo has surged past 8,000, as the country runs out of health workers to contain the deadly disease, officials said Monday. The outbreak is the country’s 17th and its deadliest.Congo announced an outbreak on May 15, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which has no known treatment or vaccine, and has struggled to contain it.The latest data from Congo’s health ministry released Sunday showed that 8,067 cases have been confirmed, with 3,901 deaths as of Sept. 26 across 63 health zones in seven of the country’s 26 provinces, with a fatality rate of more than 48%.
Do you remember that Reagan delayed funding because it was the “Gay” disease? This time, funding has been cut back across all USAID funding. The thing is, Ebola never sleeps.
Some areas have shown signs of improvement, with fewer confirmed cases in the past several weeks, including in Ituri province and Haut-Uele, but officials say the disease is spreading further in other areas, expanding its geographical reach.
Diseases never sleep.
Media ITE reported:
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, was quoted as saying at the time, “This is not efficiency. It is dangerous neglect. The United States spent years building the relationships, supply chains, laboratories, and community health networks that help stop deadly diseases at their source. The Trump administration tore into that capacity and now wants to pretend the consequences were unforeseeable.”
Just like Reagan you can't ignore diseases! Infection Control Today wrote,
The Ebola outbreak spreading across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and into Uganda is now one of the most rapidly escalating in the virus's recorded history. As of May 25, 2026, the CDC reports that the bulk of the devastation is concentrated in the DRC, with 906 suspected cases and 105 confirmed cases," or restructured as "906 suspected and 105 confirmed cases, with 234 deaths
Once a disease gets a toehold the CDC will be putting out one brush fire after another. Even though Ebola doesn't spread easily if a enough Ebola infected people come here it could overload the system.
Last year the Senate Foreign Relations Committee put this out...
“In less than two months, the Trump Administration has undone six decades of investments that made the United States more respected and influential than any other nation. The resulting chaos has left us weaker and more vulnerable. Like all of my colleagues, I have always supported reforming government and making sure our tax dollars are spent wisely. But this administration has ignored U.S. laws enacted by Congress-cutting foreign assistance programs and USAID staff that are essential for our nation[...]Top Line Impact of Global Health Cuts
- Our 50-country network for stronger surveillance to deadly diseases from bird flu to swine fever [is] gone.
- Our emergency response system that cut response times to global outbreaks from greater than two weeks to less than 48 hours [is] gone.
- AIDS programs to prevent new cases of HIV in high-risk populations [is] gone
- Programs for preventing child and maternal deaths that reached 93 million women and children under 5 in 2023 and added 6 years of life on average [has been] cut 92%.
- Lifesaving tuberculosis programs cut [by] 56%.
- Lifesaving water and sanitation programs cut[by] 86%.
- Funding for GAVI, the global vaccine alliance, which was set to vaccinate half a billion children [was] terminated and, if not restored, will cost 500,000 lives a year and drive higher exposure to measles in the U.S.
It almost seems like if there isn't a buck to be made the Trump adminstration doesn't care about it.
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