Trump Admin Makes Yet Another Anti-Women, Anti-Science Move
The president can't pronounce "acetaminophen," but that didn't stop him from lying to the nation by saying that taking it during pregnancy causes autism.
On Monday, Donald Trump, along with the nation’s top health officials, set fire to public health, promoted bogus medical advice, and blew every satire headline out of the water by telling Americans—without evidence—that taking Tylenol during pregnancy can cause autism.
According to the babbler-in-chief, Tylenol’s main ingredient, acetaminophen (which he really struggled to pronounce), “during pregnancy can be associated with a very increased risk of autism.” Speaking directly to pregnant people, he announced from the Roosevelt Room: “I want to say it like it is. Don’t take Tylenol… Fight like hell not to take it.”
Trump: “Ah-ced-uv… well, let’s see how we say that. Ascenem – enophin. Acetaminophen. Is that ok?”
Autism is “among the most alarming public health developments in history,” Trump proclaimed, citing a supposed surge in the frequency of autism cases in the United States, while using fudged and outdated numbers. “There’s never been anything like this.”
In April, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had promised to find out what “caused the autism epidemic” by September, and to “eliminate those exposures.”
According to scientists and medical researchers, there has been an upward trend in autism cases, but not because of Tylenol. Historically, diagnosing autism was more difficult and thus more rare, and with improved screening and diagnoses and a stronger understanding of autistic traits and symptoms, there have naturally been more cases. And calling that increase “alarming” is dangerous rhetoric, according to advocates for people with autism.
isn’t it crazy that republicans can link tylenol to autism but not guns to mass shootings
Beyond the Tylenol slander, Trump’s speech was rife with junk science, a lot of which echoed anti-vaccination sentiment. “They pump so much stuff into those beautiful little babies, it’s a disgrace,” he rambled.
“Don’t let them pump your baby up with the largest pile of stuff you’ve ever seen in your life, going into the delicate little body of a baby,” Trump pleaded to viewers. “Even if it’s two years, three years, four years, you just break it up into, I would say five—but let’s say four—four visits to the doctor instead of one.”
Under current government recommendations, children receive about 30 shots before they turn 18 (not including annual flu and Covid shots), which, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, help “the body’s immune system learn how to fight germs.” These regulations could change though; Florida is rushing forward to become the first state to get rid of its vaccine mandates.
At one point on Monday, Trump let slip that his words were rooted less in medical evidence and more in his own personal thoughts. “You know, I’m just making these statements from me,” he said. “I’m not making them from these doctors, because when they talk about, you know, different results, different studies, I talk about a lot of common sense.”
The American Psychological Association is deeply concerned about the Administration’s recent announcement on #autism.
Promoting unsupported scientific theories risks fueling stigma, undermines public trust and distracts from real scientific progress. pic.twitter.com/IO1bgHs344
Following Monday’s announcement, the Food and Drug Administration announced it would now be pushing for leucovorin as a “cure” for autism—a decision that was quickly condemned by leading autism groups and researchers. David Mandell, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania, told the Associated Press, “We have nothing resembling even moderate evidence that leucovorin is an effective treatment for autism symptoms.”
According to research, autism tends to largely be attributed to genetic and environmental influences, though the causes can vary. The Guardian reported in 2023 that children whose dads are aged 40 or older when they are born have higher rates of autism. (That correlation was unsurprisingly ignored by Trump and Kennedy.)
I guess Trump and RFK Jr weren’t happy with the studies that said sperm from older men significantly raises the risk of autism. pic.twitter.com/UYvdk3AV2M
Since Monday, a wave of GOP allies and health officials have tried to temper Trump’s diatribe, including head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz and Vice President JD Vance telling pregnant people with high fevers to consult their doctors. Speaking to the Hill, one lawmaker said the party is “starting to break ranks” over it.
On Wednesday, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told CNN that he was “very concerned” about the announcement. “I think there are an awful lot of people in the medical community who come to a different conclusion about the use of Tylenol,” he explained. “Obviously my view is we ought to be very guarded in making broad assertions and make sure that they are well grounded in science and medicine.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s other cronies have hit the ground running. Speaking to NewsMax, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) insulted pregnant women who have responded to the announcement by sharing videos of themselves taking Tylenol. “They hate Trump more than they love their babies,” she said.
Nancy Mace: “You’ve got pregnant women recording videos of themselves taking Tylenol, which has now been linked to autism. They hate Trump more than they love their babies … they’re denying science.”
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Michigan), introduced articles of impeachment against Kennedy, citing his “ongoing efforts to jeopardize public health, increase the cost of healthcare, and cut critical medical research—from pediatric cancer initiatives to cutting-edge vaccine developments.” On Twitter, she wrote: “Enough is enough.”
