Trump Presses RFK Jr. to Cut Childhood Vaccination Schedules

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump confronted Kennedy in May regarding the lack of federal research into the discredited link between vaccines and autism. During a follow-up meeting at the White House a month later, the president expressed frustration, suggesting Kennedy was not doing enough to curtail the CDC-recommended immunization schedule for children.

This push comes as the United States grapples with a surge in preventable diseases, including a record-breaking measles outbreak. Critics argue that the administration’s rhetoric is directly endangering public health. Brad Woodhouse, president of Protect Our Care, warned that acting on the debunked autism myth would lead to unnecessary suffering and death among children. Similarly, Gavin Yamey, director of the Center for Policy Impact in Global Health at Duke University, denounced the administration's stance as dangerous activism. Political scientist Jack Pitney noted that Trump has promoted these vaccine theories for decades, even as current data shows more measles cases in the last 18 months than in the previous two decades combined.