Donald Trump spoke with independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and discussed the attack he suffered, according to a video posted by Bobby Kennedy III, Robert’s son.
“I just turned my head to show the chart and something hit me. And it sounded like a giant, like the biggest mosquito in the world. And, uh, it was… it was a bullet,” the Republican said.
The video was reportedly made on Sunday (14), one day after the attack, but was posted on Tuesday (16) by Bobby Kennedy. However, the recording was deleted hours later.
In the call with the independent candidate, Trump also spoke about his call with President Joe Biden after the attack.
“He was really cool, actually. He called and said, ‘How did you choose to move to the right?’ I said, ‘I was just showing you a chart,’” he said.
“I didn’t have to tell him that the chart showed all the people that were coming into our country, right?” the Republican added, referencing the immigration chart that was being shown at the rally.
On Saturday (13), Donald Trump was shot and killed in a shooting. He was injured in the right ear, and the shooter and a person in the audience died.
Trump heard allegedly supporting false vaccine theory
In the recording, Trump appeared to endorse false theories about vaccine safety.
He discussed the number of vaccine doses scheduled for children and suggested that after a high volume of vaccines, “you see the baby suddenly start to change radically.”
“When you give a baby, Bobby, a vaccination that’s, like, 38 different vaccines and it looks like it was for a horse. Not a 10- to 20-pound baby,” Trump says on the call.
“And then you see the baby suddenly start to change radically. I’ve seen this many times,” he added.
Trump also appeared to express some skepticism toward public health professionals who accurately claim that the recommended immunization schedule for children is safe and effective, saying, “And then you hear it has no impact, right?”
Starting at age 6, children in the United States can receive vaccines that protect them from 16 different diseases, including deadly infections such as measles, whooping cough and polio.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccines are recommended for very young children before they come into contact with serious diseases that could be life-threatening.
Vaccines are often combined into a single dose to reduce the number of doctor visits and injections.
Needles used for childhood vaccines are usually 25 millimeters or less in length, and for some vaccines, dose sizes for younger people are smaller than those used for older children or adults.
Some childhood vaccines are also given orally, and certain flu vaccines for children up to age 2 may be given as a nasal spray.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apologizes to Trump in video
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apologized to Donald Trump after video of the call was released.
“When President Trump called me, I was recording with an in-house cameraman. I should have ordered the cameraman to stop recording immediately. I am mortified that this was posted. I apologize to the President,” Kennedy wrote on social media on Tuesday.
Asked by CNN If Trump knew he was being recorded, the former president’s aides pointed to Kennedy’s post, in which he said a cameraman was filming him for a separate project.
Biden campaign reacts
The Biden campaign said in a statement on Tuesday: “Trump and his anti-vaccine friend ‘Bobby’ are spreading dangerous conspiracy theories that threaten the life-saving care that tens of millions of people depend on.”
“This leaked footage is further proof that Trump cannot be trusted to protect Americans’ healthcare. It’s terrifying, and if he gains power, it could be a devastating reality for working families across the country,” they added.
A CNN has reached out to the Kennedy and Trump campaigns for comment.
Kennedy and Trump met in Milwaukee
The phone call shown in the video occurred a day before Trump and Kennedy met in Milwaukee.
Kennedy campaign spokeswoman Stefanie Spear told CNN that the two presidential candidates discussed “national unity” during the meeting.
A source familiar with the conversation said the two also discussed Trump’s vice presidential nomination decision hours before he selected Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate.
Previous questions about vaccines
In January 2017, before Trump was inaugurated, Kennedy said the Republican had asked him to lead a commission to study vaccine safety after a meeting between the two at Trump Tower in New York. The commission never materialized.
Trump appeared to reference the meeting in the clip of the phone call.
“You and I have been talking about this for a long time,” Trump told Kennedy on the call.
The former president has long been skeptical of vaccines, but his stance on the issue came under further scrutiny after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic a major issue during the Republican primary.
Trump has said he would cut funding to any public school that enforces mandatory vaccinations.
The political agenda on his campaign website questions the origins of “an unexplained and alarming rise in the prevalence of chronic diseases and health problems, especially in children.”
As a candidate, Kennedy repeatedly made false claims about the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
He has regularly criticized Trump for enacting public health restrictions during the pandemic and implementing a plan to speed up the development of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Kennedy has frequently tried to link Trump to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who helped lead the country’s Covid response under both the Trump and Biden administrations, becoming a focal point of criticism from some on the right.
Vaccine safety
All vaccines approved or authorized for use in the United States have been proven safe and effective through rigorous scientific studies.
Childhood vaccines are particularly important because they train the body’s immune system to recognize viruses it has not yet been exposed to and protect the body from the harmful effects of those viruses.
Serious allergic reactions are extremely rare – occurring in approximately one in 1 million people. Mild side effects are much more common, such as pain or swelling at the injection site, which tend to subside quickly.
Worldwide, vaccines prevent more than 4 million deaths every year, according to the World Health Organization. And while there is still no scientific consensus on what causes autism, vaccines conclusively do not.
*with information from Aaron Pellish, from CNN
*Steve Contorno and Alayna Treene, from CNN, contributed to this report
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
