President Trump posted a video to his social media platform on Monday asserting that vaccines were linked to autism, an argument he has been making — despite scientific evidence to the contrary — for nearly 20 years.
The video, which appears to be old, features Dr. Mark Geier and his son David, who together published numerous studies purporting to show a link between vaccines and autism. David Geier was accused in 2012 of practicing medicine without a license alongside his father in Maryland. He has been installed in the federal government by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, to work on a study on the causes of autism, expected to be released this month.
The video focuses on thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that was removed from nearly all childhood vaccines in the early 2000s.
Like Mr. Trump, Mr. Kennedy has long embraced the notion that vaccines are linked to autism. Mr. Trump, who posted the video on Truth Social without comment, has been sending conflicting signals about Mr. Kennedy and vaccines after the health secretary’s confrontational testimony in front of the Senate Finance Committee last week.
“Look, you have vaccines that work,” Mr. Trump said Friday. “They just pure and simple work. They’re not controversial at all. And I think those vaccines should be used.”
Sheryl Gay Stolberg covers health policy for The Times from Washington. A former congressional and White House correspondent, she focuses on the intersection of health policy and politics.
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