5 Wildest Moments from Trump and RFK’s Presser On Autism
On Monday, President Donald Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held a major news conference on autism largely focusing on Tylenol — which the president advised pregnant women not to take. Medical experts were watching closely and are already scrutinizing a number of the key claims. And a number of moments during the presser stood out for a variety of reasons. Here are five of the most notable:
1. Trump botches key pronunciation while making the case that Tylenol is “not good.”
Trump advised pregnant women that they should not use Tylenol, even if it means “toughing it out” when they have a headache or fever. But he came out of the gate stumbling over the pronunciation of “acetaminophen,” one of the ingredients in Tylenol.
“First, effective immediately, the FDA will be notifying physicians of the use of, well, let’s see how do we say that? Acetaminophen, which is basically commonly known as Tylenol. During pregnancy it can be associated with a very increased risk of autism. Taking Tylenol is not good. It’s not good. For this reason they are strongly recommending women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy,” Trump said.
“For instance, in cases of extremely high fever that you feel you can’t tough it out, you can’t do it, I guess there is that. It’s a small number of cases, I think. But if you can’t tough it out, if you can’t do it, that’s what you’re gonna have to do,” Trump continued. “You’ll take a Tylenol, but it will be very sparingly. It can be something that’s very dangerous to the woman’s health. In other words, a fever that’s very, very dangerous and ideally a doctor’s decision. Because I think you shouldn’t take it. You shouldn’t take it during the entire pregnancy. They may tell you ‘toward the end’ of the pregnancy — You shouldn’t take it during the entire [pregnancy].”
According to the National Institutes of Health’s own website, an untreated fever in a pregnant woman can lead to birth defects, and shouldn’t be ignored. “Most healthcare providers consider acetaminophen to be the fever-reducer of choice during pregnancy,” the site said.
2. Trump claims that the Amish have “no autism” because they don’t take pills or vaccines.
Trump went on to make a head-scratching claim about a group he believes is essentially immune from autism.
“I think I can say 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? … Is that a correct statement, by the way?” Trump asked RFK Jr.
“There are some studies that suggest, yeah, with the Amish, for example,” Kennedy said.
“The Amish, yeah. Virtually… I heard none. 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,” Trump said.
The fact-checking website Snopes did a deep dive on this claim, and concluded that it’s a myth that Amish communities have no autism.
“The facts that a majority of Amish people vaccinate their children and that Amish people are, in fact, diagnosed with autism,” Snopes found. “Though it is true that their vaccination rates are lower, and that — at least according to preliminary studies — their rates of autism occurrence are also lower, this observation in no way validates the idea — popularized by a fraudulent, retracted study by a doctor with a financial interest in promoting a different vaccine — that vaccines cause autism.”
3. Trump claims Cuba has “virtually no autism” because they “don’t have the money for Tylenol.”
The president went on to claim that Cuba is likewise immune.
“I will say there are parts of the world that don’t take Tylenol,” Trump said. “And there’s a rumor and I don’t know if it’s so or not, that Cuba … they don’t have Tylenol because they don’t have the money for Tylenol. And they have virtually no autism,” Trump said.
4. Trump claimed that doctors currently vaccinate children “like they are pumping into a horse.”
Trump went on to use some bizarre imagery to argue that children are being vaccinated too heavily at too early of an age.
“I think when you go for a shot, you do it over a five-time period. Take it over five times, or four times, but you take it in smaller doses and you spread it out over a period of years,” Trump said.
“They pump so much stuff into those beautiful little babies it’s a disgrace. I don’t see it. I think it’s very bad. They are pumping, looks like they are pumping into a horse. Little child, little fragile child. They pump so much stuff into those beautiful little babies it’s a disgrace. I don’t see it. I think it’s very bad. They are pumping, looks like they are pumping into a horse. Little child, little fragile child. A vat of 80 different vaccines, I guess. Eighty different blends and they pump it in.”
The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention lists the vaccines children should receive before starting school around the age of 5. Vaccines are not given all at once, but are broken down into doses for birth, 1-2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 7-11 months, 12-23 months, 2-3 years, and 4-6 years.
5. RFK Jr. draws parallel between autism and the #MeToo movement.
And finally, the President’s HHS secretary caught some observers off guard by making reference to the #MeToo movement — while arguing parents have been ignored about autism.
“Some 40 to 70% of mothers who children with autism believe that their child was injured by a vaccine,” he said. “President Trump believes that we should be listening to these mothers instead of gaslighting and marginalizing them like prior administrations. Some of our friends like to say, we should believe all women. And some of the same people have been silencing and demonizing these mothers for three decades.”
Watch above.
