(LifeSiteNews) — President Donald Trump suggested over the weekend that children are over-vaccinated in the United States, lamenting that “beautiful little babies” have a “big glass of stuff pumped into their bodies.”
The president made the comments during a wide-ranging sit-down interview with Sharyl Attkisson.
“I believe in vaccines, but I don’t believe that you have to have a mandate for all of them,” he said. “I look at these beautiful little babies, and they get a vat, like a big glass of stuff, pumped into their bodies, and I think it’s a very negative thing to do.”
President Trump links AUTISM to VACCINES. pic.twitter.com/w8N3sIaCuy
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“I would love to see much smaller shots, like four visits to the doctor. And I think you would have a much better result with the autism,” Trump added.
The interview continues the mixed messaging the administration has projected on vaccinations since returning to office. In January, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced an overhaul of the federal childhood immunization schedule, reducing the number of vaccine recommendations for children from 17 to 10.
Such news has been welcomed by Americans who feel the medical establishment pushes too many vaccines on their kids, as well as those who believe a broader review of vaccine safety is needed after the controversy with the COVID-19 vaccines. As LifeSiteNews has extensively covered, a large body of evidence indicates those shots carry significant risks.
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Democrats are largely united in favor of all such vaccines, but the response among Republicans has been conflicted, largely due to the first Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed (OWS) initiative prepared and released the COVID shots in a fraction of the time any previous vaccine had ever been developed and tested that the president has refused to disavow.
So far, Trump’s second administration has rolled back several recommendations for the shots but not yet pulled them from the market despite hiring several vocal critics of the COVID establishment and putting HHS under the leadership of Kennedy, America’s most prominent vaccine skeptic. The administration has largely settled on leaving the current vaccines optional but not supporting work to develop successors and limiting recommendations to those in high-risk groups for COVID itself.
In a July 2025 interview, U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary asked for patience from those unsatisfied by the administration’s handling of the shots, insisting more time was needed for comprehensive trials to get more definitive data. The FDA has reportedly begun acknowledging child deaths caused by the shots, but at the same time the Trump Justice Department is in court arguing against the revival of a whistleblower’s lawsuit against Pfizer.
In February, the FDA confirmed it would be reviewing pharmaceutical giant Moderna’s application for a trial of its new mRNA-based flu vaccine after all, reversing its previous rejection after reported intervention from the president.