Trump Is Reportedly Planning to Link Tylenol to Rising Autism in Children

Since taking office, President Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have taken very intentional steps to reshape the discussion of health in America. While sometimes, those changes have been motivated by solid research, other times, the president and RFK Jr. have been fine flout the findings of what they call the "scientific establishment."

Trump's latest move on this front is happening on Sept. 22, when he is set to discuss autism from the Oval Office. Given the general approach of his administration to questions of health, many are naturally curious what he might say. Here's what we know.

According to reporting in The Wall Street Journal, Trump is planning to link the development of autism in children to Tylenol.

“We’re going to have an announcement on autism on Monday," Trump said during remarks at Mr. Vernon, the home of George Washington. “I think it’s gonna be a very important announcement. I think it's gonna be one of the most important things that we will do."

According to NBC, Trump told reporters on Sept. 21 that he believed that Tylenol was "a very big factor" in autism risk, in spite of a recent study that concluded that acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, was not linked to the development of autism.

Specifically, Trump seems poised to state that women who take Tylenol while pregnant are more likely to have children who develop autism.

This is not the first time the administration has tried to find a more concrete explanation for the development of autism. Both Trump and RFK Jr. have, in the past, suggested that vaccines might be linked to autism, in spite of numerous studies that have debunked that claim.

The Centers for Disease Control announced on Sept. 18 that it would be funding a study that looks into whether vaccines cause autism, likely at the direction of the HHS secretary.

What's unclear is whether Trump plans to cite any hard evidence connecting Tylenol to the development of autism. We won't know until he actually delivers his remarks, but it's also worth knowing that the scientific consensus has not shown any links between taking the painkiller and the development of autism.

It's unclear whether this announcement will come with any concrete change in policy, but we know that Trump and RFK have not been above shifting recommendations around vaccines and other drugs to more closely align with their views of the world, and particularly of medicine.

What's less clear is whether this announcement will do anything to address the actual root causes of autism and other health issues affecting the populace. An announcement might seem like action, but if it's an announcement that is contradicted by at least some scientific evidence, then its utility becomes less clear. In fact, it might actually serve to make people more confused about what actions they should or should not take.