Trump vows to ‘figure out’ shocking rise in autism in American children with RFK Jr.
Donald Trump promised to “find out” why so many more children are being diagnosed with autism compared to years before.
The president-elect said he would love Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had chosen to lead the Department of Health and Human Service during his second term to help with the problem of rising cases of autism.
Trump delivered the keynote address at Turning Point AmericaFest on Sunday in Phoenix, Arizona, in his first public remarks since his historic 2024 election victory.
“Look, there’s something going on here,” Trump said. “If you look at autism from 25 years ago, and you look at it now, something is going on.”
“And I have Robert F Kennedy Jr. nominated – think about it, think about this – 25 years ago, autism, one in 10,000 children. Today that is one in 36 children. Is something wrong? I think so,” he complained.
“And Robert and I are going to find out.”
RFK Jr. is central to Trump’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ initiatives.
Kennedy ran as an independent in the 2024 presidential election after dropping his registration as a lifelong Democrat. Soon after, he became popular among Republican and anti-vax circles.
Donald Trump promised to get to the bottom of the rise in autism diagnoses in children
He said that he and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will ‘find out’ why autism rates have risen exponentially
Many Democrats have expressed concern to an anti-vaccine advocate who heads HHS.
“Similarly, there has been a 25 percent increase in childhood cancer and a staggering increase in chronic diseases,” Trump said during his remarks on Sunday.
“Together we will make America healthy again,” he said of his efforts with RFK Jr. “Something bad is going on.”
Trump also promised the crowd of young Americans that he would look into laws that would ban TikTok from operating in the US
“We’re going to think about TikTok,” Trump said, “because, you know, we did go on TikTok and we got a great response.”
If nothing changes, the Chinese-owned app may no longer be available for download
He also explained how his 18-year-old son Barron Trump helped him with the young vote by urging him to turn to podcasts during his campaign for a second, non-consecutive term.
Turning Point USA advocates conservative values on high schools and college campuses and helps mobilize young and future voters.
Trump boasted that he had won the younger vote, despite polls showing him lagging behind this demographic.