President-elect Donald Trump has announced that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will lead an investigation into potential links between vaccines and autism as head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
During an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker, Trump addressed concerns about vaccine safety and childhood health. When asked if he would support eliminating childhood vaccines, Trump responded, “If they’re dangerous for the children.”
Trump pointed to a rise in autism diagnoses over the past few decades, saying, “If you take a look at autism, you go back 25 years. Autism was almost nonexistent. It was, you know, one out of 100,000, and now it’s close to one out of 100. Something is going on.”
Although he did not definitively link vaccines to autism, Trump expressed a desire for further investigation. “I don’t know if it’s vaccines. Maybe it’s chlorine in the water, right? People are looking at a lot of different things. I want them to look at everything.”
President Trump offered a measured stance, acknowledging the benefits of some vaccines while advocating for scrutiny of others. “Maybe some aren’t [great]. If they aren’t, we have to find out.”
Trump also emphasized his proactive approach to health issues, referencing a meeting he convened at Mar-a-Lago with top pharmaceutical executives. “I called up the top pharma companies and said we’re going to devise solutions to our health and drug issues,” he said.
Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic and advocate for medical transparency, has long questioned the safety of certain vaccines and their potential side effects.
