Fact-checking Trump’s autism announcement

Science Weekly

The Guardian

Science

4.2 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 24 September 2025

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In a televised press conference on Monday, Donald Trump and health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr made a series of unproven claims about autism and its links to paracetamol use in pregnant women, and about childhood vaccinations. The comments were immediately refuted by scientists and health agencies around the world, but many expressed concern about the impact of this misinformation being repeated at the highest levels of government. So what does the science really say? Madeleine Finlay speaks to Guardian science editor Ian Sample to factcheck the claims made in the announcement, and find out what decades of scientific research into autism tells us about its causes and why diagnoses are on the rise. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is The Guardian.
0:10.2	From Zen retreats to city breaks.
0:13.3	Beach resorts to adrenaline adventures.
0:15.0	No matter what kind of holiday you love,
0:17.3	the Marriott-Bonvoy American Express card is the ideal upgrade.
0:20.5	With automatic Marriott-Bonvoy Express card is the ideal upgrade. With automatic
0:21.1	Marriott Bonvoy's silver elite status and the chance to level up to gold elite if you spend
0:25.5	£15,000 in eligible card purchases within a year, it's never been easier to travel in style.
0:31.6	Representative 53.3% APR variable. Annual fee applies. 18 plus subject to status, terms and conditions apply.
0:39.3	This message was paid for by American Express. Here's the truth about AI. AI is only as powerful as
0:47.0	the platform it's built into. ServiceNow puts AI to work for people across your business,
0:53.0	removing friction and frustration for your employees,
0:56.1	supercharging productivity for your developers, providing intelligent tools for your service
1:01.0	agents to make customers happier, all built into a single platform you can use right now. That's
1:07.0	why the world works with ServiceNow. Visit ServiceNow.com slash UK slash AI for people.
1:18.3	Back in April, US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged to find the cause of autism by
1:26.2	September.
1:30.1	And at a press conference on Monday,
1:32.3	surrounded by members of his health department,
1:35.0	President Donald Trump made an announcement.
1:37.6	First, effective immediately,
1:40.0	the FDA will be notifying physicians at the use of...
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Guardian, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Guardian and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.