A CNN panel on vaccine mandates took an unexpected turn Monday when host Abby Phillip directly challenged Republican mega-donor Hal Lambert’s assertions regarding vaccines and their connection to autism and health issues.
The exchange occurred during CNN’s “Newsnight” as Lambert defended Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial views on vaccine safety. Lambert attempted to link rising health concerns, including autism, to increased vaccine usage over the last few decades.
“We keep saying science and data,” Lambert began. “There’s autism up over the last 25 years. All of these things mean that our kids are less healthy, but we have a lot more vaccines. And so, I think his point is both on the food side — which is obviously a problem on the obesity side — on the vaccine side is, are we more healthy than we were 25 years ago or 30 years ago when we had far fewer vaccines that were going around for kids that were mandated?”
Lambert expressed support for Kennedy’s position, saying he believed Kennedy was merely “arguing that we should go look for that.” At this point, Phillip interrupted to push back strongly against the claims.
“I mean, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on,” Phillip interjected. “I’m going to stop right now because, like, you’re doing exactly the thing that doesn’t actually — when we talk about following the science, what you’re doing is saying — ‘well, people are getting more vaccines and all these other things are happening, so those things are related.’
That’s not how this works. Vaccines don’t cause autism.” Not satisfied with Lambert’s unsubstantiated connections, Phillip pressed further, demanding evidence. She asked Lambert to clarify his basis for linking vaccines to health problems such as obesity.
Lambert responded by pivoting to Kennedy’s broader claims. “Well…what Robert Kennedy said was that cancer rates are higher… specific cancer rates are higher. That’s what he’s talking about,” he said. Phillip wasn’t convinced. She pointed out that Kennedy’s claims lacked scientific backing.
“Phillip noted that Kennedy ‘has no proof of that,’” before firmly adding: “Well before you decide to tell people that cancer is related to vaccines, don’t you think you should have evidence of that first?”
The tense exchange highlighted the ongoing debate over vaccine safety and misinformation, with Phillip drawing a clear line between speculation and science-based evidence. The panel underscored the media’s role in pushing back on unfounded claims, especially as public health discussions remain a focal point in national conversations.