President Donald Trump offered some thoughts on childhood vaccines on Sunday, expressing disapproval over the dosages given to babies and likening the treatment to vets medicating horses.
Returning to the White House after speaking at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service in Arizona, Trump stood for questions on Air Force One about his planned announcement on autism on Monday, with a journalist asking him whether he intended to link the condition to vaccines, contrary to the scientific consensus.
“Vaccines are very interesting,” the president answered. “They can be great, but when you put the wrong stuff in them, you know… And, you know, children get these massive vaccines like you’d give to a horse… like you’d give to a horse.
“And I’ve said for a long time, I mean, this is no secret – spread them out over five years. Get five shots, small ones. Did you ever see what they give? I mean, for a little baby to be injected with that much fluid, even beyond the actual ingredients, they have sometimes 80 different vaccines in them. It’s crazy.”
“You know that’s a common sense thing too… It’s like you’re shooting up a horse. You have a little body, a little baby, and you’re pumping this big thing. It’s a horrible thing. So I’ve always felt that. But we’ll be having a big discussion about autism tomorrow,” he continued.
Trump famously invited worldwide ridicule during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when he suggested that household bleach might have a role to play in the fightback against the respiratory disease.
The president and Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr are expected to claim on Monday that the consumption of Tylenol by pregnant women has been linked to autism and should be recommended only in cases in which the expectant mother is suffering from a high fever.
The Food and Drug Administration, many medical organizations, and Tylenol’s manufacturer, Kenvue, maintain that the drug is safe for pregnant people to take as directed, but advise that users consult medical professionals.
Trump trailed his upcoming press conference at Kirk’s memorial, tailing off from his tribute to the murdered Turning Point USA founder to promise an “amazing” announcement, adding: “I think we found an answer to autism.”
Kennedy, an outspoken vaccine skeptic, has pledged to end the “epidemic” of autism and establish its root causes.
However, even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has acknowledged that the rise in case numbers over the last 25 years is due to improved screening for the condition, leading to more people being diagnosed with it who might not have been previously.
