Trump breaks from RFK Jr. on vaccines: ‘Pure and simple, they work’
President Trump said he’s supportive of vaccines on Friday, breaking with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Why it matters: Kennedy has faced widespread criticism for his new vaccine mandates and staffing shake-up at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Driving the news: Trump was asked Friday during an Oval Office meeting about Kennedy’s vaccine mandate changes, which include limiting which children are eligible for vaccines.
- “I think you have to be very careful when you say that some people don’t have to be vaccinated,” Trump said of Kennedy’s vaccine mandates for children.
- “They’re just, pure and simple — they work,” he added. “They’re not controversial at all. And I think those vaccines should be used.”
Context: Trump has a history of changing his tune on vaccines, initially expressing skepticism about them in the early days of Operation Warp Speed — launched in 2020 to fast-track development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
- He later called the vaccine a “medical miracle” that could “save millions of lives.” Recently, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Trump deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the development of the COVID-19 vaccine.