Bill Maher sends his liberal viewers into meltdown with stunning autism claim

Liberal comedian Bill Maher has shocked viewers after siding with health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr on the cause of autism.

Maher, 69, supports RFK Jr's claim that rising autism rates are due to 'toxins' in the environment, such as food and drug ingredients, pesticides or pollution.

The Health and Human Services (HHS) boss has rejected the idea that increasing autism prevalence was due to better screening and genetic factors, which is the theory of most mainstream doctors.

On the most recent episode of his talk show, Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher responded to a viewer's question asking: 'What does the panel think of RFK Jr announcing that he will find the cause of autism by September of this year?'

While Maher said he thought finding the cause in that timeframe is ambitious, he went on to support RFK Jr's views autism 'is not mostly genetic, it's mostly environmental toxins'.

He added: 'I mean environmental toxins is really the story of my lifetime.

'I'm glad I was born as old as I am, at a time when everything wasn't completely polluted. I think that's why I'm still alive today. It's just got worse, and worse, and worse and worse.'

His views quickly divided opinion among his left-leaning base. Maher is a longtime critic of Trump and his administrations.

One commentator wrote on X: 'Respectfully. WTF does Bill Maher know about environmental toxins?'

Another outraged viewer deemed Maher an 'idiot comedian,' adding 'think I'm going to side with the scientific community on this one'.

Sat opposite guests journalist Matt Welch and Democrat senator Tina Smith, Maher, 69, defended RFK Jr and said an article that deemed him 'completely crazy' was unfounded.

In a press conference last week, RFK Jr dismissed the idea that autism rates are being fueled by genetic factors, saying, 'genes do not cause epidemics,' adding that 'it [the rise in autism] must be triggered or caused by environmental or risk factors.'

And it appears Maher is in agreement with this, telling viewers of his show on Friday night: 'I mean environmental toxins is really the story of my lifetime.

Political commenter, Welch, went on to voice his disagreement over the claims that toxins are to blame for the booming autism rates, stating that the US is cleaner that it has been for decades.

He said in response to Maher's views: 'The air is less polluted, the water is less polluted... as countries get richer, they pollute less [but] when they're industrializing they pollute more.

'There might be individual environmental toxins, yes, but as a broad description of the status of OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, we are polluting on net less.'

Unconvinced, Maher said that the debate around environmental toxins 'depends on where you live'.

He continued: 'Out here in California, I believe I'm breathing in the fire still [from the January wildfires].

'The fire burned a lot of this city and a lot of this city had plastic in their homes.

'We were already getting, they say, a credit card's worth of plastic in our body on a weekly basis, so I don't know what your talking about like its better than it used to be.'

RFK Jr has sounded an alarm over what he is calling a runaway autism epidemic after recent CDC data showed diagnoses at an all-time high.

According to the agency, one in every 31 children aged eight or younger had autism in 2022 - a rate of 32.2 per 1,000. That's up from one in 36 in 2020, and one in 44 in 2018.

By comparison, early studies from the 1960s and 70s estimated autism rates to be as low as 1 in 5,000.

While researchers in the CDC report said improvements in early identification of autism 'have been apparent' in recent years and could explain the rise, RFK Jr estimated as many as 85 percent of cases could instead be linked to environmental exposures.

He said: 'We have to recognize we are doing this to our children and we need to put an end to it.

Research from Harvard, for example, found exposure to air pollution like particulate matter in early childhood may raise the risk of autism by as much as 64 percent.

While in the womb, exposure may raise risk of ASD by 31 percent.

The experts suggested particulate matter breathed in during early childhood or while in the womb may travel through the bloodstream and bypass protective layers in the brain, causing inflammation that hinders nerve development.

An Australian study published earlier this year also found boys exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) in the womb were six times more likely to be diagnosed with autism before age 11 than those without exposure.

That team suggested BPA - which lines plastic and metal food packaging, an ever growing pollutant in the modern world - was associated with neurological and behavioral changes associated with autism.

The US has also seen a surge in the use of synthetic pesticides, which some say could be a contributor, as well. Use of these chemicals increased 50-fold since 1950.

Some research indicates up to 80 percent of Americans have detectable levels of pesticides in their blood.

RFK Jr has now pledged to commission a series of studies into whether mold, pesticides, food chemicals or medicines are contributing to the development of the condition.

Chat show host Maher's backing of RFK Jr's pledge was followed by another shock to his fans, when he doubled down on his newfound fondness of President Donald Trump.

Maher agreed to meet him for dinner at the White House, despite sparking outrage from liberals.