Donald Trump Calls For Further Investigation Into Autism And Vaccine Safety

In an interview with TIME Magazine after being named Person of the Year, President-elect Donald Trump was pressed on his stance on vaccines and autism.

Trump was questioned whether the jabs could be linked to autism, an issue that's been brought up by concerned parents for years. While the internet has already attacked the president-elect over his response, Trump didn’t explicitly say vaccines cause autism. What he did say, however, is that he will have a "big discussion" with RFK Jr. regarding children's vaccination programs.

He added that his administration will undergo “very serious testing,” after which “we will know for sure what's good and what's not good.” 

Trump also acknowledged that the autism rate is "at a level that nobody ever believed possible," and while leftists will argue about why that is, he’s suggesting that it’s worth looking into and investigating. He continued, “If you look at things that are happening, there's something causing it.” 

There’s something to be said for listening to concerned parents who believe their children may have been affected by the vaccines. We shouldn’t ignore the voices of concerned Americans who demand more clarity from the very agencies that are claiming to care about their health and children. 

This isn’t the first time Trump has brought up concerns about vaccines. He’s been vocal about it for over a decade, long before the current debate around COVID-19. Back in 2007, he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that autism wasn’t really a concern when he was growing up, but now, he sees it as an "epidemic." 

Of course, many people who support Trump’s previous stance on vaccines point to the fact that, during his first term, he was responsible for the successful rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines. But lately, with the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services, it seems like Trump may be revisiting those concerns to improve the health of Americans.

What Trump is suggesting now isn’t as radical as some might think. He’s not advocating for the mass dismantling of the vaccination system. After all, no one wants to see a repeat of the unnecessary fear-mongering from the 90s or the failed vaccine campaign of the 1976 pandemic that never even happened. If Trump’s approach leads to more science-backed, fact-based conversations on this topic, that could only be a good thing.

Trump’s recent comments may not have been as extreme as the media has painted them to be. His concerns are shared by millions of us. How can parents ensure that the vaccines our children receive are as safe as possible? Parents who question the safety of vaccines are not automatically anti-science, and their voices deserve to be heard. He’s not even advocating for the dismantling of vaccine programs or reviving the fear-mongering that plagued us during the pandemic. Instead – as a president should – he’s advocating for transparency, accountability, and trust between the public and health agencies. With autism diagnoses continuing to rise and chronic illness becoming more prevalent among children, these are questions worth asking.

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