Flanked By RFK Jr, Trump Spews Lies About Autism, Tylenol...And Amish
President Donald Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on May 12, 2025
President Donald Trump made another ridiculous public health announcement promoting old, debunked vaccine myths Monday.
Flanked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz, Trump pushed the debunked conspiracy that autism is caused by everything from acetaminophen to vaccines.
"I can say that there are certain groups of people that don't take vaccines and don't take any pills that have no autism. Does that tell you something?” Trump said, asking Kennedy, “Is that a correct statement, by the way?"
"There are some studies that suggest that, yeah. With the Amish, for example,” Kennedy replied.
"The Amish, yeah. Virtually … I heard none,” Trump agreed. “See, Bobby wants to be very careful with what he says, and he should. But I'm not so careful with what I say. But you have certain groups. The Amish, as an example. They have essentially no autism."
The threadbare anti-vax myth that the Amish don’t have autism and don't vaccinate is—like every single thing Kennedy promotes—completely unsupported by any available evidence.
The limited interactions that Amish communities have with broader society has fueled baseless claims from anti-vaxxers like Kennedy—and now Trump. But in reality, Amish children have been diagnosed with autism at rates comparable to other communities. And while data is limited, it’s clear that Amish children are often vaccinated, though at a lower rate.
Having failed to prove a link between the measles vaccine and autism, anti-vaxxers like Trump and Kennedy are now pushing vague, unfounded claims that a combination of drugs may be linked to autism in children.
“Don't let him pump your baby up with the largest pile of stuff you've ever seen in your life, going into the delicate little body of a baby.” Trump added.
He then went on to give his own version of medical advice.
“Even if it's two years, three years, four years, you just break it up into, I would say five. But let's say four—four visits to the doctor instead of one,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has slashed funding for autism research, demeaned autistic people and their families, and actively obstructed scientific inquiry—all in the name of pseudo-science.
Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.
