How Many False Claims Did Trump Pack Into His 4-Minute Vaccine Rant at Cabinet Meeting?

President Donald Trump blurted out a string of falsehoods during a wandering rant about vaccines, autism, and “toughing it out” at his latest Cabinet meeting. How many? Let’s see.

Trump held a Cabinet meeting Thursday on the heels of a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, during which Trump Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held forth with a wild story about Tylenol.

Not to be outdone, Trump went on a tangent and falsehood-riddled “weave” that saw him again tell pregnant women to “tough it out” and burnish his credentials to dispense medical advice to an entire nation as a “non-doctor” who is, however, a “common sense man.”

An analysis of the rant shows that, including repetitions, Trump made a staggering 60 false, misleading, or inaccurate claims in the space of four minutes and change.

Here’s an annotated breakdown of Trump’s rant:

SEC. ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR: You showed courage and you’ve shown leadership and I can’t thank you enough for letting me do this work.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: So, think of that one in 20,000, [False: Historical autism prevalence in the US was estimated around 1 in 2,000 to 1 in 10,000 in the 1970s-1980s, not 1 in 20,000. Current rates are about 1 in 31 overall; roughly 1 in 25 boys and 1 in 70 girls] and now it’s one in 12 for boys, one in 18, 19 for girls.

So obviously, there’s something that’s artificially, I think, induced, [Misleading: The apparent increase in autism rates is largely attributed to improved diagnostic criteria, awareness, and screening, not external factors like vaccines or medications.] something, whether it’s the vaccines [False: Extensive scientific research has found no causal link between vaccines and autism.] in terms of these massive vaccines that are twice the size of a jar like that, of a glass of water like that into a baby’s body. [Inaccurate: Vaccine doses for infants are fractions of a milliliter, not “massive” or comparable to a jar or glass of water.]

And I’ve… suggested, get them in doses, get him in, you know, maybe 20 percent, 30 percent, but smaller, not such a big. I think, you know, that. [Misleading: There is no scientific evidence that administering vaccines in smaller or spaced-out doses reduces any risk of autism or other conditions; the standard schedule is safe and effective.]

And we had certain recommendations, the MMR, take them separately. The measles is already separate now and it works out much better, but there doesn’t seem to be any impact if you take it separately. [False: The measles vaccine is not “already separate”]

If you take as a combination, it’s not so great. [False: Studies show the combined MMR vaccine is safe and does not increase autism risk compared to separate shots.] And some other things.

But I would say don’t take Tylenol. If you’re pregnant, and when you’re — when the baby is born, don’t give it Tylenol. You can avoid it at all, just don’t give it to Tylenol. [Misleading: While some studies suggest an association between Tylenol use during pregnancy and increased autism diagnoses, evidence is not conclusive or causal; ACOG and others say it’s safe when used as directed]

Really, what do you have to lose? You really don’t have much to lose. Here, go ahead.

SEC. ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR: There’s also just, there’s many, many other confirmation studies. [Misleading — ibid] There’s two studies that show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism. [Inaccurate: Referenced studies (e.g., a 2015 Danish study) have been criticized for methodological flaws and not replicated; current evidence does not support a causal link between circumcision and autism.]

It’s highly likely because they’re given Tylenol. [Misleading: No strong evidence establishes Tylenol as the causal factor in any potential circumcision-autism association; this is pure speculation.] So none of this is dispositive, but all of it is stuff that we should be paying attention to.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: But, you know, there’s a tremendous amount of proof or evidence, I would say, as a non-doctor. [False: Evidence linking Tylenol or vaccines to autism is not “tremendous” or strong; it is largely associational and not causal, even according to Trump’s CDC. ibid]

But I’ve studied this a long time ago. You know, I met Bobby in my office 20 years ago. We were talking about the same thing 20 years ago.

And I was a real estate developer, but it bothered me that it seemed to be getting worse. But it’s so bad now when you hear these numbers. It’s not even really sustainable. I don’t know how people do it, but…

There is some very strong evidence on Tylenol. [False; ibid] In fact, at one point, I guess the company gave a warning. They gave the…

SEC. ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR: They still don’t recommend it during pregnancy. [Inaccurate: Tylenol’s manufacturer (Johnson & Johnson) advises consulting a doctor for use during pregnancy but does not outright “not recommend” it; it is considered the safest pain reliever for pregnant women by many health authorities. ibid] That’s the weird thing.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: They’re not recommending it, [Inaccurate:ibid] and that’s the company itself.

So, just don’t take it. Don’t take if you’re a woman, don’t take it and don’t give it to the baby when the baby’s born. [Misleading:ibid] And I think that’s going to have an impact.

But I’d also get the shots in smaller doses. [Misleading:ibid] There are a few things we give, a few things that just seem to be. And I’d think you’d get that number way back up. Think of it. You have one in 20,000 [False:ibid] and now it’s just it’s not it’s not even believable when you when you think the 20,000 drops to 12? 12 12 children? [False: ibid]

So that’s that’s induced by something that’s given or taken [Misleading: ibid] and it should be able to be stopped and you’re talking about the Pennsylvania Dutch.

You were talking about the Amish, where… They don’t take any of this stuff, [Inaccurate: Amish communities do vaccinate though rates are lower than average; they are not uniformly anti-vaccine.] and they have virtually none, right? They have no autism, no autism. [False: Amish children do have autism; rates may be underdiagnosed due to cultural factors.]

So we’re doing something very bad. Somebody’s been given some bad things. [Misleading: Implies vaccines or Tylenol are the “bad things” causing autism, which is not supported by evidence. Other factors account for increased diagnoses. ibid.]

Other countries, by the way, we have, I think, one — we have 82 vaccines that we give simultaneously. [False: The US childhood immunization schedule includes vaccines for about 18 diseases with multiple doses over time, totaling around 30-50 doses from birth to age 18; no child receives 82 vaccines simultaneously or in total.]

And I’m a vaccine believer, by the way. I believe in the polio vaccine. I believe a lot of vaccines.

But when you give 82 vaccines in a shot to a little baby that hasn’t even formed yet, [False: ibid.] it’s a lot of vaccines. And in Japan, they give a much smaller number. [Inaccurate: Japan recommends about 13-15 childhood vaccines, similar in scope but with different scheduling.] In Germany, they gave a much more, like, 28 vaccines. [Inaccurate: Germany recommends vaccines for about 14 diseases, comparable to the US, not 28 distinct vaccines.] That’s a lots too. But 28 is a lot different than 82. [Inaccurate: ibid.]

So but I would say on the Tylenol, don’t take it. [Misleading: ibid.] And that will be — I think it’s going to be a big factor. [Misleading: No evidence Tylenol avoidance would significantly impact autism rates.] I think — I’ll think it’ll be a very good result. And I hope we’re going to able to see that result and then not too distant future. [Misleading: Speculative and not evidence-based. ibid.]

Because certainly, people have heard us loud and clear. This is why I bring it up again. That’s why I asked you to talk about it, because this is a horrible thing.

And if you don’t take it — I mean, you have to tough it through sometimes. There are other things you can do, but you have tough it out. [Misleading: ibid.]

It’s easy for me to say. But I think you’re gonna see numbers that will be so it’ll be so significantly improved and maybe.

Maybe fully improved. [Misleading:ibid.] I mean this there’s something there. There’s something going on and we have to address it.

And so I’m addressing it the best I can as a non-doctor, but I’m a man of common sense.

Watch above via The White House.