Donald Trump is still pursuing the creation of a “vaccine safety commission” that will investigate the repeatedly debunked link between vaccines and autism, according to notorious anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who would lead the commission.
Kennedy told reporters on Wednesday that the White House has been in touch with him regarding the commission after he met with Trump on Jan. 10. Kennedy and Trump’s staffs have reportedly been discussing what the commission should look like since then.
Kennedy made the comments at a news conference in Washington alongside actor Robert DeNiro, who’s also questioned vaccine safety. The pair offered a $100,000 award to anyone who could point to a study showing that the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal was safe to vaccinate children and pregnant women.
However, thimerosal was removed from most pediatric vaccines by 2001. Autism diagnosis rates continued to increase for children born after that.
Kennedy said Trump staffers, following his high-profile meeting with Trump, originally urged him to talk about the commission, but they called that evening to say they had “gotten out over our skis” and had to give a more ambiguous statement about Trump’s plans. However, Kennedy said he has been contacted twice since that meeting and “they say they are still going forward with it.”
While it might seem crazy to spend federal funds investigating a link between vaccines and autism that was completely made up in the first place, the move by Trump shouldn’t come as much of a surprise considering his own comments on vaccines.
In October 2012, Trump tweeted, “Lots of autism and vaccine response. Stop these massive doses immediately. Go back to single, spread out shots! What do we have to lose.”
Lots of autism and vaccine response. Stop these massive doses immediately. Go back to single, spread out shots! What do we have to lose.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2012
Two years later, he tweeted, “Healthy young child goes to doctor, gets pumped with massive shot of many vaccines, doesn’t feel good and changes — AUTISM. Many such cases!” and, “With autism being way up, what do we have to lose by having doctors give small dose vaccines vs. big pump doses into those tiny bodies?”
Healthy young child goes to doctor, gets pumped with massive shot of many vaccines, doesn't feel good and changes – AUTISM. Many such cases!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2014
With autism being way up, what do we have to lose by having doctors give small dose vaccines vs. big pump doses into those tiny bodies?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2014
In one tweet from 2014, now-President Trump alluded to the fact that scientific studies have consistently disputed the claimed link. He discounted the evidence as “fudged up reports!”
So many people who have children with autism have thanked me—amazing response. They know far better than fudged up reports!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2014
With all the disinformation out there, and vaccine deniers causing record numbers of outbreaks around the United States, do we really need the federal government jumping on this particular anti-science bandwagon, too? Will Jenny McCarthy be appointed Trump’s science adviser?
(Screenshot via YouTube)
