When President Trump chose the dignified Roosevelt Room of the White House to introduce a report on autism, he made a powerful statement: this issue was deeply personal to him.
“I always had very strong feelings about autism,” Mr. Trump declared that Monday, mentioning he’d anticipated such an event for two decades. He later added, “I’ve stopped seven different wars. I’ve saved millions of lives. I’ve done a lot of things. This will be as important as any single thing I’ve done.”
For an hour, surrounded by his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and other senior health officials, Mr. Trump passionately discussed the escalating rates of autism. His remarks, however, often ventured into scientifically questionable territory, as he labeled it ‘among the most alarming public health developments in history.’
During his address, he offered medically unsound advice regarding vaccines and specifically warned pregnant women against using acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol), claiming it could lead to autism in infants. He also suggested that parents should space out their children’s vaccinations, a recommendation that directly conflicts with established immunization guidelines. Trump even admitted that his statements went beyond the cautious positions of his own health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the FDA commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, acknowledging he might not possess all the pertinent facts.
“We’re making these statements, and I’m making them out front, and I’m making them loud, and I’m making them strongly,” Mr. Trump asserted. “Not to take Tylenol, not to take it, just don’t take it unless it’s absolutely necessary — and there’s not too many cases where that will be the case.”
He questioned, “And again, what’s the worst? The worst is nothing can happen,” despite medical consensus that fevers during pregnancy can pose risks to both mother and fetus.
Trump’s engagement with the autism discussion goes back to at least December 2007, when he welcomed leaders of the advocacy group Autism Speaks to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. At that time, he speculated that infants were receiving too many vaccinations simultaneously. Months later, he revealed that he and his wife, Melania, had opted for a slower vaccine schedule for their son, Barron, who was then around two years old.
“What we’ve done with Barron, we’ve taken him on a very slow process,” Mr. Trump explained then. “He gets one shot at a time, then we wait a few months and give him another shot, the old-fashioned way.”
At that period, the future president was a host of NBC’s reality show ‘The Apprentice.’ Bob and Suzanne Wright, former chairman of the network and grandparents to a child with autism, had established Autism Speaks two years prior. They approached Mr. Trump to host a fundraiser, featuring a concert by Lionel Richie, in March 2008 to support their organization.
Even though the 1998 medical journal article that initially fueled speculation about a vaccine-autism link hadn’t yet been retracted, Dr. David Mandell, an autism specialist at the University of Pennsylvania, noted that ample scientific evidence already existed to debunk such claims.
Dr. Mandell referenced Andrew Wakefield, the British doctor and primary author of the 1998 study, stating, “Regarding Wakefield, it became evident within four years that he had fabricated his data, and extensive, reliable epidemiological studies were consistently showing no such link.”
Despite the growing scientific consensus, many parents remained worried, according to Alison Singer, then executive vice president of Autism Speaks. Ms. Singer, who later founded the Autism Science Foundation in 2009, affirmed that the scientific debate linking vaccines and autism had been resolved, with no credible evidence supporting a connection.
She recalled Trump discussing the matter during a brunch at Mar-a-Lago, where he and Mrs. Trump met with her and the Wrights.
“Melania was carrying Barron, he was a baby, and even at that time, Donald Trump did talk about his interest and concerns around vaccines,” she stated. She concluded, “I do believe that he comes to the question of trying to find the cause of autism legitimately.”
Beyond personal conviction, Mr. Trump likely harbored political motives for engaging with the autism ‘epidemic.’ He understood that Mr. Kennedy, a vocal proponent of the debunked vaccine-autism link, had played a role in his election victory.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke at a news conference concerning autism rates in April.
“I think this is both personal and political for Mr. Trump,” commented Craig Snyder, a Washington D.C. lobbyist who previously represented Autism Speaks in 2007 and now works with the Autism Science Foundation.
“On a personal level, he has considered this a high-priority issue for a considerable time,” Mr. Snyder explained. He further noted the political dimension, referencing Mr. Kennedy’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement: “And politically, I believe he sees MAHA supporters, Kennedy supporters, as a crucial component of his coalition. Their backing was a significant factor in his election win, making this an effort to fulfill a campaign pledge.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one in 31 American 8-year-olds are diagnosed with autism today, a stark contrast to the one in 150 ratio observed in 2007.
“When I was growing up, autism wasn’t really a factor,” Mr. Trump recounted to The South Florida Sun-Sentinel back then. “And now all of a sudden, it’s an epidemic. Everybody has their theory, and my theory is the shots. They’re getting these massive injections at one time. I think it’s the vaccinations.”
Over the almost two decades since that initial fundraiser, Mr. Trump has consistently voiced his worries about autism and vaccines. He brought up the topic on social media in 2014 and again during a 2015 presidential debate, describing a “beautiful child” who received a vaccine, subsequently developed a fever a week later, and was then diagnosed with autism.
Just before his inauguration in 2017, Mr. Trump held another meeting at Mar-a-Lago, this time with a group of autism advocates convinced that vaccines are the underlying cause.
On Monday, Mr. Trump reiterated a similar narrative. He spoke, as he often has, of an anonymous woman who worked for the Trump Organization. She had reportedly told him she “lost” her son after he received a vaccination and developed a high fever.
“I’ve lost him, sir, he’s gone,” Mr. Trump quoted the woman as saying, adding, “And then I saw the boy. It was a whole — it was so tragic to see.”
Many parents of children with autism were heartened by Mr. Trump’s sustained interest, having long advocated for increased federal funding for research into autism’s causes and potential treatments. Two mothers of autistic children were present with Mr. Trump on Monday, publicly expressing their appreciation.
However, Ms. Singer noted a profound irony in the day’s announcement.
According to a Washington lobbyist, the supporters of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement were a key factor in Mr. Trump’s re-election.
“Everyone in the autism advocacy community, who cares deeply for individuals with autism, had high hopes that both the president and R.F.K. Jr. were genuinely committed to uncovering the causes of autism and pursuing gold-standard scientific research,” Ms. Singer remarked.
“But what we heard today was not gold-standard science,” she concluded. “It wasn’t even science. Instead, President Trump simply voiced his thoughts and feelings, completely devoid of any supporting scientific evidence.”