Medical and autism experts decry Trump’s Tylenol claims – US politics live

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A World Health Organization spokesperson said on Tuesday that evidence of a link between the use of paracetemol during pregnancy and autism remained inconsistent and that the value of life-saving vaccines should not be questioned.

US president Donald Trump on Monday linked autism to childhood vaccine use and the taking of popular pain medication Tylenol by women when pregnant, elevating claims not backed by scientific evidence to the forefront of US health policy.

“The evidence remains inconsistent,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević told a Geneva press briefing when asked about a possible link between paracetemol use in pregnancy and autism.

“We know that vaccines do not cause autism. Vaccines, as I said, save countless lives. So this is something that science has proven, and these things should not be really questioned,” he added.

Speaking on a call organized by Defend America Action, a campaign group, Debra Houry, a former chief medical officer and deputy director at the CDC, told journalists: “As of three weeks ago, we hadn’t seen evidence that acetaminophen was linked with autism, so it’s curious to know how quickly that was developed.”

“There are many studies which refute a link, but the most important was a Swedish study of 2.4m births published in 2024 which used actual sibling data and found no relationship between exposure to paracetamol [known in the US as acetaminophen] in utero and subsequent autism, ADHD or intellectual disability,” said Dr Monique Botha, associate professor in social and developmental psychology at Durham University

“The fearmongering will prevent women from accessing the appropriate care during pregnancy.

Alison Singer, president and founder of the Autism Science Foundation, voiced scathing criticism of the administration’s approach – specifically its assertions on Tylenol, which she called “not scientifically based”.

“Any association between Tylenol and autism is based on very limited, conflicting and inconsistent science, and it’s premature to make this kind of unsubstantiated claim and risk undermining public health,” she said.

“It’s misleading to families who deserve clear more factually based information.”

She also questioned the basis of the White House announcement. “We’re uncertain as to why this press conference is being held today. To our knowledge, there was no new data that were uncovered, no new studies published, no new presentations were made. There wasn’t a scientific conference or a medical conference,” Singer said.

Opening summary

Good morning, and welcome to our coverage of US politics on a busy day for Donald Trump as he is due to address the UN general assembly at 9.50am EST with several meetings scheduled for later. We’ll be bringing you all the news through the day.

But first let’s cover some other developments, including the reaction to Monday’s press conference when the president linked autism to the taking of popular pain medication Tylenol, known as paracetamol elsewhere, by women when pregnant.

He delivered medical advice to pregnant women and parents of young children, repeatedly telling them not to use or administer the painkiller and suggesting that common vaccines not be taken together or so early in a child’s life.

“I want to say it like it is, don’t take Tylenol. Don’t take it,” Trump said. “Other things that we recommend, or certainly I do anyway, is ... don’t let them pump your baby up with the largest pile of stuff you’ve ever seen in your life,” he said, referring to vaccines.

Trump’s team suggested leucovorin, a form of folic acid, as a treatment for autism symptoms.

Dozens of medical, research, and autism advocacy groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, decried the president’s announcement.

“The data cited do not support the claim that Tylenol causes autism and leucovorin is a cure, and only stoke fear and falsely suggest hope when there is no simple answer,” the Coalition of Autism Scientists said in a statement, reported Reuters.

New York University bioethicist Art Caplan told Associated Press it was “the saddest display of a lack of evidence, rumors, recycling old myths, lousy advice, outright lies, and dangerous advice I have ever witnessed by anyone in authority.”

You can read our report here:

In other news:

• Disney annoucned that Jimmy Kimmel Live! will return to television today. This comes after the late night show has spent almost a week off the air, after ABC suspended production.

• Donald Trump signed an executive order designating ‘antifa’ as a domestic terrorist organization. The news follows Trump’s announcement Thursday that he was planning such an order following Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Antifa, short for “anti-fascists”, is an umbrella term for far-left-leaning activist groups and is not a single entity.

• As the president prepares to address the UN general assembly on Tuesday, the White House responded to several countries formally recognizing Palestinian statehood. “Frankly, he believes it’s a reward to Hamas,” the press secretary said yesterday. “He believes these decisions are just more talk and not enough action from some of our friends and allies. And I think you’ll hear him talk about that tomorrow at the UN.”

• Trump will meet with top Congressional Democrats Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries this week regarding healthcare spending and a spending bill to keep the government funded.

• Lindsey Halligan, a former Florida insurance lawyer who has been serving as a special assistant to the president, has been sworn in as interim US attorney, replacing Erik Siebert. Siebert, a longtime prosecutor who had been overseeing investigations into Letitia James, the New York attorney general, and James Comey, the former FBI director, resigned Friday amid pressure from the Trump administration.