In a wild and rambling speech from the White House on Monday that contradicted mainstream scientific consensus and medical guidance, President Donald Trump advised pregnant women not to take Tylenol, claiming it was linked to autism in children, and said expectant mothers should take it only if they “can’t tough it out” during a high fever.
“Effective immediately,” the Food and Drug Administration will be notifying physicians that acetaminophen, Trump said — tripping over the pronunciation of the main ingredient in Tylenol — “can be associated with a very increased risk of autism.”
“Taking Tylenol is not good. I’ll say it, it’s not good.”
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
“Taking Tylenol is not good. I’ll say it, it’s not good.”
A 2024 study in JAMA, in which researchers analyzed data from 2.5 million children in Sweden, found no association between prenatal acetaminophen use and autism, ADHD or intellectual disability.
Kenvue, the company that makes Tylenol, said in a statement: “We believe independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism. We strongly disagree with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned with the health risk this poses for expecting mothers.”
“The Trump administration does not believe popping more pills is always the answer for better health,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Monday evening, touting the new approval of leucovorin, a form of vitamin B typically used alongside cancer treatments, to treat autism. “President Trump pledged to address America’s skyrocketing rates of autism, and his team is deploying Gold Standard Science to deliver on this pledge. We will not be deterred in these efforts as we know millions across America are grateful.”
Along with discouraging Tylenol for both pregnant women and newborns after vaccination, Trump said, without evidence, that vaccines for children should be spread out over multiple visits instead of administered according to the schedule recommended by medical associations and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trump further advocated for separating the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine into three individual shots (an idea based on retracted science from a discredited researcher); delaying the hepatitis B vaccine, which is routinely administered to newborns, until age 12; and removing other ingredients from vaccines that anti-vaccine activists, contrary to evidence, have long claimed to be dangerous.
We believe independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism. We strongly disagree with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned with the health risk this poses for expecting mothers.
kenvue, the company that makes tylenol
“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 said.
“This is based on what I feel,” he clarified.
“I hope I didn’t ruin his day,” Trump said of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who at times looked dejected standing behind him. “I’d like to be a little bit more, a little speedier in the process of a recommendation, because there’s no harm in going quicker. There’s absolutely no harm.”
Kennedy, an anti-vaccine lawyer who founded the country’s largest anti-vaccine organization before he resigned to head the Department of Health and Human Services, had promised in a Cabinet meeting that “by September” we would “know what has caused the autism epidemic, and we’ll be able to eliminate those exposures.”
For years, Trump has spread the extensively debunked and disproven theory that vaccines are to blame for autism. Experts warn that delaying vaccinations increases vaccine-preventable illnesses. The country is in the midst of its largest measles outbreak in three decades. Senior officials at HHS agencies also announced a slate of related actions at the news conference, including new autism research initiatives, proposed treatments, a public awareness campaign about acetaminophen use and a change to the product’s warning label. The Wall Street Journal had reported the announcement would link autism and the use of Tylenol by pregnant women, a preview that had frustrated allies in the anti-vaccine movement, who complained Kennedy had broken promises to reveal vaccines as the cause of autism and childhood chronic health ailments. “We know that Tylenol is not what’s driving this epidemic,” Mary Holland, president of the Kennedy-founded Children’s Health Defense, said on Steve Bannon’s show Monday. “Vaccines are driving this epidemic.” After the news conference Monday, the mood had changed. “President Trump just dropped a bombshell,” Bannon said on his program. “Absolutely stunning.” Holland said: “We didn’t know he was actually going to touch on vaccines, and he was all over it. I’m happy to say he basically gave parents permission not to vaccinate their kids and definitely not to take Tylenol.” Along with discouraging Tylenol for both pregnant women and newborns after vaccination, Trump said, without evidence, that vaccines for children should be spread out over multiple visits instead of administered according to the schedule recommended by medical associations and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trump further advocated for separating the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine into three individual shots (an idea based on retracted science from a discredited researcher); delaying the hepatitis B vaccine, which is routinely administered to newborns, until age 12; and removing other ingredients from vaccines that anti-vaccine activists, contrary to evidence, have long claimed to be dangerous.
Brandy Zadrozny is a senior enterprise reporter for MS NOW. She was a previously a senior enterprise reporter for NBC News, based in New York.
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