they burnt babies…
Driving the news: "20 years ago, Autism in children was 1 in 10,000. NOW IT'S 1 in 34. WOW! Something's really wrong," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
That social media post wasn't the first time Trump has floated misinformation about autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
In a December interview with TIME magazine, Trump said he'd have a "big discussion" with Kennedy about potentially ending childhood vaccination programs, noting the "autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible."
While Trump did not insinuate a tie between autism and vaccines in his Tuesday post, he has in the past.
Reality check: Andrew Wakefield's 1998 study —which built the foundation for debunked theories tying vaccines to autism — was deemed fraudulent and retracted by the medical journal that published it.
Many studies conducted since have shown that vaccines are not associated with ASD.
Experts say broadening diagnostic criteria and rising awareness of the disorder has contributed to an uptick in autism diagnoses — rather than something being "really wrong."
By the numbers: In 2020, the CDC estimated that among U.S. 8-year-olds, the rate identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was around 1 in 36, not the 1 in 34 Trump wrote about.