Trump's Tylenol-autism disaster is falling apart

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Some scandals are so big they should be impossible to ignore. Donald Trump telling pregnant women not to take Tylenol because it supposedly “causes autism” should have been one of those moments. Instead, it is already slipping beneath the surface of the news cycle. That does not make it smaller. It makes it more dangerous.

How It Started

The Tylenol autism story did not appear out of nowhere. For years, Trump has toyed with anti-science rhetoric on autism. He has hinted at vaccines being to blame. He has nodded along when conspiracy theories spread in his circles. He has never been able to resist using autism as a prop to stir up distrust in medicine.

The latest version of that playbook landed when his administration turned its attention to the fever reducer and pain reliever acetaminophen, also known by the brand name “Tylenol.” Trump and his FDA commissioner stood at a press conference and told pregnant women to avoid Tylenol altogether. This was not a one-off Trump rant. It was delivered as official government health guidance.

Paid Junk Science as Policy

The justification for this claim came from a Harvard scientist, Dr. Andrea Baccarelli. On the surface, that might sound credible. But what was left out is that Baccarelli was paid $150,000 to testify in a class action lawsuit against Tylenol’s manufacturer. Under oath, he admitted to the compensation.

The outcome of that lawsuit was devastating for his credibility. A federal judge tossed his testimony, calling it unreliable, incomplete, and misleading. The judge even went as far as to say it was designed not to enlighten but to obfuscate. In other words, this was not objective science. It was a paid opinion that collapsed under scrutiny.

Instead of moving on from a debunked courtroom stunt, that same testimony was recycled into a review paper. Trump’s FDA commissioner is now citing that paper as if it is the scientific consensus. Junk arguments dressed up in new packaging are shaping national health policy.

What the Real Science Says

The actual evidence points the other way. The largest and most rigorous study available followed 2.5 million children in Sweden. It found no causal link between acetaminophen and autism. Researchers even compared siblings, one exposed to Tylenol during pregnancy and one not. The supposed link disappeared. That is the gold standard sign that the drug itself is not responsible, but rather other background factors.

Baccarelli’s paper, by contrast, cherry-picked smaller studies, some of which did not even measure autism symptoms. Other researchers quickly pointed out the flaws. More than 250 autism scientists have since signed a public statement warning that Trump’s claims alarm them. They explained that the data does not support the conclusion and that promoting this idea only spreads fear while offering no real answers to families.

The Press Conference Disaster

Then came the spectacle. At a White House event, Trump told pregnant women, “With Tylenol, don’t take it. Don’t take it.” He then veered into bizarre territory, claiming there is no autism in Cuba or among the Amish. Both claims are false. Both are stigmatizing. Yet he said them anyway from the most powerful podium in the world.

Standing right behind him was Dr. Mehmet Oz, now running Medicare and Medicaid. He nodded along like a loyal supporter. The very next day, however, Oz ran to TMZ to soften the blow. He said that if a pregnant woman has a high fever, she should take Tylenol to bring it down, and otherwise use it only when appropriate. In other words, the mainstream medical guidance that has existed for decades.

Speaking with Chris Cuomo on NewsNation, Oz reiterated what is fundamentally the pre-existing guidance for Tylenol and pregnant women.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists quickly reaffirmed the same position. Acetaminophen remains the first-line option in pregnancy, to be used at the lowest effective dose for the shortest time, in consultation with a clinician. This is exactly what Oz eventually said, after silently flanking Trump as he told women to avoid the drug entirely.

Even Republicans are breaking ranks. Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician, publicly contradicted Trump and RFK Jr.

He essentially told them to show their work because the preponderance of evidence does not support their claim.

The Bigger Pattern

This moment fits into a larger pattern. Trump has long treated autism as a political talking point. From his flirtations with anti-vaccine rhetoric to now recycling failed lawsuits into official policy, the thread is obvious. He is not interested in science or truth. He is interested in weaponizing autism to grab attention and feed distrust in medicine.

That leaves us with a surreal situation. A man who was paid six figures to mislead a court is now shaping federal health advice. A president is telling pregnant women to avoid the safest recommended medicine for fever and pain. His health officials are nodding along until the backlash forces them to retreat to common sense. And the medical community is left to pick up the pieces, reassuring the public that nothing about the guidance has changed.

The Bottom Line

The scientific bottom line has not shifted. Vaccines do not cause autism. Tylenol does not cause autism. Fever in pregnancy is dangerous, and acetaminophen is the recommended treatment. That was true before Trump’s press conference, and it is true now.

The only thing new here is the scale of recklessness. Improvised health guidance delivered like a campaign riff, backed by junk science bought in a courtroom, recycled through a government agency, and then walked back by Trump’s own allies once the headlines hit.

The Tylenol autism fiasco is not just a blunder. It is the latest example of what happens when ideology and conspiracy take priority over science. That it even needs to be said in 2025 is the real scandal.

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