Part of Donald Trump’s pivot to being more “presidential” meant hiring some staff who aren’t known for, say, assaulting protesters or using the n-word. This means looking for “respectable” Republicans to help him sell his message to the kinds of Americans who aren’t showing up to one of his rallies dressed in a brick wall patterned onesie
Elizabeth Emken is well-educated and (until recently) highly respected. She’s also a Republican who took an opportunity to snag a job from the Republican front-runner. Accepting a job on Trump’s campaign, she was the perfect person to throw on television to act as Donald Trump’s spokesperson. But then everything went wrong.
During a discussion on CNN’s Newsroom, Emken was grilled over Trump’s history of endorsing anti-vaxxer rhetoric. For years, Trump helped promote the dangerous idea that giving a child his or her life-saving vaccination shots would cause - as he once suggested - “immediate #autism.”
"@OnlineOnTheAir: My friend's son, immediate #autism after #vaccines 10 yrs ago. So sad. Keep up good work Nay-sayers will understand soon."
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2014
Healthy young child goes to doctor, gets pumped with massive shot of many vaccines, doesn't feel good and changes - AUTISM. Many such cases!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2014
I'm not against vaccinations for your children, I'm against them in 1 massive dose.Spread them out over a period of time & autism will drop!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2014
Emken has a somewhat unique perspective on the damage this misinformation can cause - she used to work as the Vice President for Government Relations at Autism Speaks. The group, the biggest autism awareness nonprofit in the country, has been adamant that the anti-vaxxer movement is wrongheaded and counterproductive. As one might imagine, the issue comes up a lot. So often, in fact, that the Autism Speaks website has an entire section devoted to the controversy. Their answer is just two sentences:
Over the last two decades, extensive research has asked whether there is any link between childhood vaccinations and autism. The results of this research are clear: Vaccines do not cause autism.
Emken was forced to pick between defending Donald Trump’s idiotic anti-vaxxer message or betray her new boss. She opted for a third option: Melt slowly into the floor as she twisted herself into a pretzel. It was painful to watch.
Donald Trump campaign spokeswoman + ex-@AutismSpeaks exec @ElizabethEmken on Trump linking vaccines to autism: https://t.co/EwZKC488Q8
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) May 2, 2016
Her conclusion:
Anyone who tells you what does or what doesn’t cause autism simply is not, uh, basing that on facts.
…which is a lie. Because science has conclusively ruled out vaccinations as a cause for autism.
Let Emken be a cautionary tale: This is what your brain looks like on Trump.
