Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s claims linking vaccines and Tylenol to autism are emerging as a flashpoint in the Republican midterm strategy, with allies of President Donald Trump betting the rhetoric will energize disillusioned voters, Axios reported.
Republican strategists and backers of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement believe his focus on autism will resonate with parents who feel betrayed by the medical establishment. They argue the message could help drive turnout for GOP candidates in November.
“It’s a huge issue and going to be an important part of the midterm election,” said Republican lobbyist Marty Irby, who once represented the MAHA-aligned group Moms for America. “Whether it’s the food we eat, whether it’s the vaccines, whether it’s the drugs that the pregnant mother takes, it’s definitely something that mothers across America are paying attention to.”
Still, Kennedy’s assertions, including a suggestion that acetaminophen use during pregnancy may cause autism, have drawn criticism from some. His own department has since softened that claim. Some advocates say the rhetoric demeans people with autism by framing the condition as a disease to be cured rather than a lifelong condition to be accommodated.
“What he’s peddling here isn’t just ignorance, it’s institutionalized hopelessness,” actress Holly Robinson Peete, a longtime autism advocate, said on Instagram. “From the very office that’s supposed to protect public health, we’re getting fear and shame and blame and misinformation.”
A Health and Human Services spokesperson defended Kennedy, saying he “is focused on answers and action for families as autism spectrum disorder has surged nearly 400% since 2000 and now affects 1 in 31 U.S. children.”
Kennedy’s allies are amplifying that message through events, ad campaigns and outreach. At a recent conference in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Kennedy-aligned MAHA Institute, parents and doctors critical of mainstream medicine promoted holistic alternatives.
“It feels like there’s been a paradigm shift from ‘It’s genetic and there’s nothing you can do,'” said attendee Dawn Loughborough, the parent of an adult child with autism. “Autism is finally being acknowledged. I’m thrilled this administration is acting.”
But Kennedy’s positioning carries political risk.
Quinnipiac University polling shows his approval rating slipping to 33% from 38% in June, with 57% of voters expressing a lack of confidence in his medical claims. Senate Republicans have also been cautious. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., warned against unproven health theories, while Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chair of the Senate Health Committee, criticized Kennedy’s assertions.
Even some within the Trump administration view the autism debate as a distraction.
Gordon Hensley, a former HHS adviser and now GOP strategist, said White House staffers “are likely a lot happier seeing Secretary Kennedy talking about the fundamental MAHA precepts of chronic disease prevention, reforming the food supply and the like, as opposed to fomenting CDC infighting and vaccination chaos.”
Despite the backlash, Kennedy’s allies believe the message taps into frustration with experts and institutions.
“We have the Democrat and Republican voters who are policy voters because of their child … and they will cross lines,” said Rob Houton, CEO of a coalition raising money for MAHA-aligned candidates.
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