Donald Trump takes shot at RFK Jr over vaccines amid Republican rift

Donald Trump has appeared to clash with U.S Secretary of Health and prominent vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr, as the president stressed the importance of vaccinations.

Although claiming he is not an “anti-vaxxer” himself, RFK Jr. has come under fire for his views on vaccinations and came under intense scrutiny after claiming “autism comes from vaccines” in an interview with Fox News in 2023. However, now it seems Trump has started a rift in healthcare policy after coming out to support vaccination, calling the polio jab “amazing”.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, the presidentsaid: "You have some vaccines that are so amazing. The polio vaccine, I happen to think, is amazing." He added: “'You have to be very careful when you say that some people don't have to be vaccinated ... It's a very tough position."

READ MORE: Donald Trump’s Oval Office bling exposed as knockoff £43 plastic sprayed gold

READ MORE: Donald Trump 'secretly spied on pal Jeffrey Epstein for FBI'

The vaccine debate is heating up in the US, alongside the Senate hearing. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has called for a change in the state law to eliminate school vaccine mandates. Clashing with the Republican governor,Trump added: “Look, you have vaccines that work. They just pure and simple work.

“They’re not controversial at all, and I think those vaccines should be used, otherwise, some people are going to catch it, and they endanger other people, and when you don’t have controversy at all, I think people should take it.”

Currently, Florida schools require students to be vaccinated for polio, diphtheria, measles, rubella, pertussis, mumps, tetanus and some other communicable diseases, but under DeSantis, this is set to become optional. The move comes as the vaccine rate in the US has begun to decline despite polling suggesting cross-party support from voters on vaccine availability.

RFK Jr is also an advocate for parental choice over vaccines and has called for more research in the field, something that, although it may not fall under “anti-vaxxing”, has worried some professionals. Dr David Elliman, a consultant at Great Ormond Street Hospital, told the BBC that Kennedy was dangerously adding to myths around vaccines.

He added: “Vaccination has probably saved more lives and is better researched than most, if not all, aspects of healthcare. RFK Jr could set this back and be responsible for the death and disability of myriads of people, particularly children.”

During a hearing before a US Senate committee, Kennedy was branded an “anti-vaxxer” with claims that he is “denying people vaccines”. In his time in the job, Kennedy Jr. has pushed through several anti-vaccine moves, from changing recommendations on COVID-19 vaccinations, cutting funding for mRNA jabs and cutting influential members on the vaccine advisory panel.

Speaking at the hearing, Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso, a former orthopaedic surgeon, said: “I support vaccines. I’m a doctor. Vaccines work. Secretary Kennedy, in your confirmation hearings, you promised to uphold the highest standards for vaccines. Since then, I’ve grown deeply concerned.”