This is the August 11, 2026, edition of “The Tea, Spilled by Morning Joe” newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday.
“I’m a doctor. This executive order is wrong. The president does not have the expertise to make these changes.”
— Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., physician and chairman of the Senate health committee, responding to President Donald Trump’s order changing the childhood vaccine schedule
As the father of a son on the spectrum, I have followed the science on vaccines and autism for over two decades.
Study after study after study — spanning 25 years, covering millions of children — has found no link. Not one.
The paper behind the vaccine-autism myth— published in The Lancet in 1998, based on 12 patients, and funded by trial lawyers — was exposed as a fraud. It was retracted, and the doctor behind it, Andrew Wakefield, was stripped of his medical license.
Yesterday, the president of the United States signed an executive order built on that same discredited science.
The man beside him, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., vaccinated all of his own children. Now he’s making it harder for every other parent in America to do the same.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — a Republican, a physician, the chairman of the Senate health committee — called the order wrong, saying the president “does not have the expertise to make these changes” and that “vaccines DO NOT cause autism.”
Cassidy warned that splitting up vaccines will mean more shots for children, not fewer — and will only drive hesitancy higher and leave kids less protected.
That’s the same Cassidy who cast the deciding vote to confirm Kennedy as health secretary after Kennedy promised him that the childhood vaccine schedule would not change.
Cassidy turned this man loose on America’s children. And there is now no telling how much illness and heartbreak will follow.
STEVE RATTNER’S CHARTS: CAMPAIGN FUNDING BY THE NUMBERS
The 2026 midterms are in full swing, and candidates are campaigning not just for votes, but for dollars.
Campaigns draw from three principal sources: direct contributions, party committees, and political action committees.
On direct contributions — limited to $3,500 per person for primaries and another $3,500 per person for the general — Democrats are in the lead.
In the most closely fought Senate races, Democrats are excelling.
Jon Ossoff, the Georgia incumbent, had $42.6 million on hand as of June 30. His Republican challenger, Mike Collins, had $2.1 million.
In Texas, James Talarico reported $21.5 million in cash. His opponent, Ken Paxton, had just $1.8 million.
As for super PACs, the money race isn’t even close — in large part because of the massive war chest Trump has amassed. It’s one reason so many Republican candidates kowtow to him.
Trump controls more campaign money than the House and Senate Republican super PACs combined.
But even putting Trump aside, Democrats still trail.
WHAT THEY SAID
Retired Gen. Mark Hertling on Trump’s approach to Iran
“When he says ‘you’ll see,’ that doesn’t assuage me or convince me that he’s got a good approach. He’s trying different methods, not coordinating all of them, and unfortunately, I think he knows deep down — and his advisers have probably told him — that he is losing his capability to influence Iran.”
John Heilemann on the midterms
“Republicans have this massive financial advantage, but the enormous advantage that Democrats have right now, borne out over the past 18 months, is enthusiasm. Democratic voters will walk over broken glass and hot coals to go to the polls in November. Republicans, on the other hand, are heading into a buzzsaw.”
Claire McCaskill on Trump calling Democrats “communists”
“It’s a real stretch for a guy who considers Putin one of his besties to be criticizing candidates in the Democratic Party who want to have healthcare for everybody. Trump has done more to undermine pure capitalism in this country than any president I can remember, grabbing parts of private companies and thinking the government should get a piece of the action.”
The post I have a son on the spectrum. Nothing supports RFK Jr.’s claims about vaccines and autism appeared first on MS NOW.
