By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-22 19:06:44 | Updated at 2024-12-23 00:09:38
5 hours ago
Donald Trump vowed to 'figure out' why so many more children are being diagnosed with autism compared to years prior.
The president-elect said he chose Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Service in his second term to help with the issue of rising autism cases.
Trump delivered the keynote address at the Turning Point AmericaFest on Sunday in Phoenix, Arizona in his first public remarks since his historic 2024 election victory.
'Look something's going on here,' Trump said. 'When you look at like autism from 25 years ago, and you look at it now – something's going on.'
'And I nominated Robert F Kennedy Jr. – think of it, think of this – 25 years ago, autism, one in 10,000 children. Today, it's one in 36 children. Is something wrong? I think so,' he lamented.
'And Robert and I, we're going to figure it out.'
RFK Jr. is at the center of Trump's 'Make America Healthy Again' initiatives.
Kennedy was running as an independent in the 2024 presidential election after dropping his registration as a lifelong Democrat. He soon after got popular among Republican and anti-vax circles.
Donald Trump vowed to get to the bottom of the rise in childhood autism diagnoses
He said that he and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will 'figure out' why autism rates have risen exponentially
Many Democrats have expressed their concern with an anti-vaccine advocate leading HHS.
'Likewise, there's been a 25 percent increase in childhood cancer and a staggering increase in chronic diseases,' Trump said during his remarks on Sunday.
'Together, we're going to make America healthy again,' he said of his efforts with RFK Jr. 'Something bad is happening.'
Trump also promised the crowd of young Americans that he would look at laws that seek to ban TikTok from operating in the U.S.
'We're going to start thinking about TikTok,' Trump said, 'because you know, we did go on TikTok and we had a great response.'
If nothing changes, the Chinese-operated app might no longer be able to be downloaded
He also detailed how his 18-year-old son Barron Trump helped him with the young vote by urging him to go onto podcasts during his campaign for a second, non-consecutive term.
Turning Point USA advocates for conservative values on High School and College campuses and helps mobilize young and future voters.
Trump bragged that he won over the younger vote despite polls showing him lagging with this demographic.
