Trump V. RFK Jr: Prez Calls Out Health Sec.'s Lack of Progress on Vaccines' Alleged Link to Autism
It doesn't look as if Donald Trump is happy with RFK Jr.'s autism update, according to a new report.
July 28 2026, Published 4:20 p.m. ET
Donald Trump doesn't appear to be happy with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his lack of progress on the alleged link between childhood vaccines and autism, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the president notified his Secretary of Health that he would be known as a failure if he could not reveal proof that vaccines and autism were connected, and reportedly called RFK Jr. out for not accomplishing much over his tenure.
RFK Jr.'s Vaccine Nightmare
RFK Jr.'s attempt to link vaccines to autism has lost steam over the last few months.
The president is said to have confronted RFK Jr. on his golf course in May, accusing the 72-year-old of getting the "yips" for not pursuing the controversial alleged link further following backlash.
According to the new report, RFK Jr. was left shaken by the comment; however, that interaction did not stop Trump from pressuring RFK Jr. as he "steers nearly every conversation" the two have back to the claim that vaccines are linked to autism.
The topic has divided both political figures and the public. Back in October 2025, during a Cabinet meeting, RFK Jr. claimed that circumcision is also "highly likely" linked to autism.
He said at the time, "There's many, many other confirmation studies – there's two studies that show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism. It's highly likely because they’re given Tylenol,
Trump on Vaccines and Autism: 'It's Pretty Scary'
According to a report, Trump accused RFK Jr. of getting the 'yips' for not pursuing the alleged connection.
"None of this is positive, but all of this is stuff that we should be paying attention to," RFK Jr. added. Just weeks earlier, Trump had linked pregnant women using Tylenol to autism,
"The FDA] are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary," the 80-year-old said in a press conference on September 22. "That's, for instance, in cases of extremely high fever."
RFK Jr., who for years has been investigating a link between the record number of autism cases in American children over the past 25 years and medicine and vaccines, is said to have been urged by the White House to tone it down as it could potentially hurt Republicans in the upcoming midterms.
However, that has not appeared to sway Trump, as he previously declared, "Somebody has to find out. If you go back 25 years ago, you had very little autism. Now you have it. When you talk about autism, because it was brought up, and you look at the amount we have today versus 20 or 25 years ago, it's pretty scary."
The president has been open about his thoughts on vaccines, recently declaring a link between pregnant women taking Tylenol and autism.
Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order to reduce the number of vaccines administered to American children, as he declared on Truth Social, "We are moving to a far more reasonable Schedule, where all children will only be recommended to receive Vaccinations for 11 of the most serious and dangerous diseases."
"Parents can still choose to give their children all of the Vaccinations, if they wish, and they will still be covered by insurance," the politician noted. "However, this updated Schedule finally aligns the United States with other Developed Nations around the World."
During a previous appearance on Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson, Trump falsely claimed kids were receiving "88 vaccines" and added, "I look at these beautiful little babies, and they get a vat, like a big glass of stuff pumped into their bodies."
However, his comments received pushback, especially from CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale, who noted, "So much vaccine misinformation from the president. Kids don't get anywhere close to '88' or '82' vaccines."
RFK Jr. 'Isolated' From Health Department?
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RFK Jr. is 'isolated' from his department, as he's focused on his controversial beliefs, according to a previous report.
Meanwhile, despite Trump's reported disappointment, it appears RFK Jr. still has a job, despite critics claiming he has not been successful in the role.
Reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg of the New York Times recently claimed RFK Jr. was nowhere to be found following the Ebola outbreak in Africa, and wrote that he has "remained isolated from much of the department’s top staff."
She claimed, "Instead... he is single-mindedly focused on his top priorities, including food recommendations and pesticide exposures, and hunting for evidence to support his long-held beliefs that vaccines are harmful."
In response, RFK Jr. labeled the article as "unfair, inimical, and inaccurate."
