US President Donald Trump’s latest comments on autism and vaccines are drawing intense criticism from public health experts, evoking comparisons to his controversial COVID-19 briefings during his first term.
During an hour-long press conference at the White House on Monday, Trump linked autism rates to the painkiller Tylenol, urging pregnant women to “tough it out” rather than use the drug, and suggested delaying childhood vaccines — remarks widely rejected by scientists.
“There’s a rumor — and I don’t know if it’s so or not — that Cuba… they have virtually no autism,” Trump said, also claiming the Amish “essentially have no autism.”
“I’m not a doctor but I’m giving my opinion,” he added.
Trump’s Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., known for vaccine skepticism, was present as the president repeated long-debunked fears about the MMR vaccine and recommended spacing out childhood immunizations.
The 79-year-old president also questioned the early administration of the Hepatitis B vaccine, arguing there’s “no reason to give a baby” the shot soon after birth, and criticized the volume of vaccines given to infants:
“They pump so much stuff into those beautiful little babies… it’s a disgrace.”
Public health officials warn Trump’s claims could endanger pregnant women and children, undermining decades of vaccine-based disease prevention.
The remarks recall Trump’s infamous 2020 COVID-19 briefing, where he speculated about “injecting disinfectant” as a potential treatment — comments that drew widespread ridicule and alarm.
