President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to study the alleged connection between vaccines and autism, switching course after senior administration advisers have tried to steer Kennedy away from the controversial topic before the 2026 midterm elections.During the first-ever televised Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, Trump pointedly asked Kennedy, “How are you doing on the autism research?”“We will have an answer for you,” Kennedy said.
“So important,” Trump said, not letting Kennedy finish his second sentence on the subject. “We’ll be talking about that. We’ll be having something of interest.”The brief exchange, juxtaposed with updates from War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio about conflicts abroad, highlights the priority that Trump places on autism research despite the effort by White House senior advisers to avoid the topic in hopes of not alienating voters.
White House advisers began pushing for Kennedy and his team for less publicity on vaccine policy after Trump-favorite pollster Fabrizio Ward in December found majorities of Republican voters continue to see vaccines as the best defense against many infectious diseases.But Trumpworld insiders who spoke with the Wall Street Journal earlier this week said Trump has been pressuring Kennedy behind the scenes to do more to reduce the number of vaccines children in the United States receive and to probe the alleged connection between vaccines and autism.Roughly 1 in 31 children in the U.S. were diagnosed with autism in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from about 1 in 150 in 2000. Although scientists have not identified a definitive cause for rising rates, some have suggested genetics, older parents, and better screening systems are likely behind the increase.During an October press conference last year, Trump said he believed children should not get the hepatitis B vaccine shortly after birth, as has been recommended since the 1990s, and instead should wait until they are 12. Trump also suggested that the Food and Drug Administration “break up” the measles, mumps, and rubella, or MMR, vaccine.White House spokesman Kush Desai told Axios parents who have concerns about “skyrocketing autism rates have long been ignored if not mocked.”“That changed the day President Trump took office, and the Trump administration is committed to leaving no stone unturned to finally address these concerns with Gold Standard Science,” Desai said.Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a Cabinet meeting, Friday, July 31, 2026, at Camp David, the presidential retreat, near Thurmont, Maryland, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
