A Voice for the Vaccine-Injured: President Trump’s Briefing on Autism

Editor’s note: Leading up to and immediately after the 9/22 Trump/RFK Jr. press conference on autism, there was so much chatter — from MSM pundits, politicians, and physicians. One thing missing from that chatter, with the exception of the two moms Trump invited to speak at the press conference, were the voices of parents of autistic children. Their voices are the most important ones, but they’ve been missing from the conversation for far too long. That’s why we asked Tenpenny guest author Gina Badalaty to write about her reaction to the 9/22 news. We’re so glad we did.

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By Gina Badalaty

On Sunday, September 21, 2025, my profoundly autistic daughter, Zoe, turned 20. Although she is smart as a whip, if she hopefully outlives us, her fate will likely be, at best, a group home. She is a kind soul, but the challenges of autism limit her abilities. 

 

That same weekend, President Trump announced that he would hold a briefing on autism on Monday, September 22, 2025. He touted this as one of the most important meetings he would have, and that autism is a problem he claims he wants to get to the bottom of. Naturally, many of us who long for answers for our children tuned in.

 

For too long, the conversation has been one-sided. And that side stated that autism is just a result of genetics. Don’t ask questions, don’t talk about environmental toxins, and don’t dare question vaccines.

 

But I don’t buy that. Zoe manifested behavioral challenges long before her autism diagnosis, potentially caused by a combination of acetaminophen use during my pregnancy and Pitocin administered to induce labor, and worsened by the toxic overload of vaccines. If autism is “strictly genetic,” then my daughter could never have improved with environmental interventions such as elimination diets, homeopathy, and biomed protocols.

 

So I, along with many other parents of children on the spectrum, functional practitioners, and others who have helped families like mine heal their children, tuned in on 9/22 to hear. And while we didn’t get all that we expected, what we did hear was simply revolutionary.

 

The Presidential Briefing on Autism

Before the event, it was leaked that the briefing would attribute autism to the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy, citing results from a recently concluded study that showed a significant correlation. That was the opening statement by Trump, later reiterated by other members of his cabinet. But that was not all. 

 

The president clearly and without reservation stated his belief that vaccines cause autism. He had seen it. He had heard (and listened to) parents. He had spoken with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., on this topic for years.

 

Next, his team announced that they were spending $50 million on studies to examine true root causes, rather than wasting more time on “fruitless genetic studies,” as Kennedy stated. 

 

The subtext was that they would be studying the impact of vaccines on a baby’s brain. And two moms were present, each with a child at a different end of the autism spectrum, to share their joy that they were finally heard.

 

Leucovorin (folinic acid) was recommended as a prescription, effective for autistic children with cerebral folate deficiency, particularly to help in the area of communication. The drug would also be covered by Medicaid, a remarkable first for root-cause autism treatments.

 

However, the biggest impact came from Trump’s own words. While the documented evidence thus far only linked Tylenol in pregnancy to autism, Trump’s signature ramble showed his true feelings: too many vaccines drop too many chemicals into little ones. He cited the Amish, who barely have any autism cases, and he talked about people he knew who had kids regress after shots. And he always came back to the same point: vaccines cause autism.

 

To the hundreds of parents who lost a child to profound autism after a vaccine or other toxic burdens, emotions were mixed upon hearing Trump’s words, but I can only share mine.

 

Words Matter; So Does Censorship

As a writer, I know that words have power. In the Harry Potter book series, the villain Voldemort was known as “He Who Must Not Be Named” because people feared that he might hurt them if his name was spoken. And so, in not naming him, they gave Voldemort great power.

 

For many years, “vaccines cause autism” was That Which Must Not Be Named. It was social media death to say this. You were censored, or called hateful, or ableist, or worse. Parents were called all kinds of names for the simple act of proclaiming what they saw:

“He was fine until I put him to bed the night of his 6-month wellness check and vaccine appointment.”

 

“I drove her home after the pediatrician gave her shots and heard a high-pitched scream, then nothing. That’s when the light went out in her eyes and never came back.”

 

“He was a different baby when he woke up the day after his doctor’s office visit.”

 

You see, these parents were not only hurt by just the tragedy that befell their kids. They were further damaged by the muzzles that were forced upon them as they tried to get answers for the very things they witnessed with their own eyes. The mockery they suffered asking logical questions so they could help their children is unforgivable.

 

These parents did what any parent would do when they sense someone is out to hurt their kids: they armed themselves. They armed themselves with knowledge through research and gained access to the discussion with political connections. Some found functional practitioners willing to help their kids, many who were, in turn, shut down themselves. Instead of letting this stop them, they just dived deeper into research and took up arms in new ways, by opening practices and forming a political force. Many of them reached out to RFK Jr. and showed him the proof, convincing him to become a warrior for our families. We all sighed in relief when he was confirmed as HHS Secretary.

 

So the question is, now what? While some parents are disappointed, I believe this is just the opening salvo in a long battle to get our voices heard, our kids healed, and the poisons out. Vaccines may never go away, but perhaps better policies can be enacted, like recognizing that forced vaccinations are unconstitutional. Or encouraging doctors to use genetic testing to determine if a child is more susceptible to vaccine injury. Or, as Trump stated, government agencies can provide recommendations for doctors to space out vaccines on the timetable to lessen the harm, as was just done for the MMRV vaccine. 

 

Shifting Public Discourse, and Implications of That Shift

More importantly, what Trump did in the briefing was to shift the Overton window, described as the range of ideas the public is willing to accept. Policy, political, or social ideas outside that window are often dismissed as radical or fringe until they become normalized by leaders, media, etc.

 

For public perception, what was once fringe (vaccines = autism) is now being given legitimacy in political discourse again. This may influence what people believe, their health choices, and what they demand from doctors or labels.

For policymaking, the shift could lead to regulatory change (warning labels, physician notices), and potential changes in vaccine scheduling or recommendations, research funding priorities, and public health messaging.

 

Finally, the people at the highest level of our government are not only talking about the links between autism and vaccine injury, but they are also actively going to fund research to investigate the links. According to Secretary Kennedy, they will use gold standard testing, rather than “placebo” studies that test vaccines against older versions of the same vaccine.

 

Now, there is one thing you should know: the mainstream press has only reported on the link between Tylenol in pregnancy and autism. They are pretending that nothing was mentioned about a vaccine-autism connection during the briefing.

 

My friends and fearless warriors, that’s where we come in: Don’t stop talking. If you’ve been afraid to speak, now is the time to talk. Remember that we are at this moment because of all the brave moms and dads who stood up for their children despite doctors’ gaslighting, politicians’ pooh-poohing, and trolls’ demeaning. Difficult work was done to help heal our kids, warn the next generation, and make inroads into government. 

 

As for me, my faith in Christ has taught me to be wise, discerning, and cautiously optimistic. The briefing could have been better, but on the other hand, it was authentic and pure Trump. He was super excited to get this information out and activate his team to address the problem. I believe Trump is a man who thinks anything can be solved. He is also someone who believes that vaccines are effective (I don’t), yet recently conceded (in his Trumpian way) that Operation Warp Speed, which fast-tracked the untested mRNA vaccine, may have been ill-advised.

 

I believe Trump wants to do the right thing here, even if he is not sure exactly what that is. And that’s ok. We stand as proud autism parents to remind him that we can help and guide him. I hope he listens, because we aren’t going anywhere.