With RFK Jr. behind him, Trump pushes unproven link between Tylenol and autism

President Trump said Monday the FDA approved a chemotherapy drug called leucovorin as a treatment to alleviate symptoms of autism. The FDA also said it was warning that acetaminophen use during pregnancy may be linked to autism.

President Donald Trump endorsed unsubstantiated claims about a link between Tylenol and autism Monday and made a variety of outlandish claims about childhood vaccinations, offering perhaps his most emphatic support to date of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s agenda.

At a White House briefing, Trump announced that his administration is issuing a warning to doctors not to recommend acetaminophen — the active ingredient in Tylenol and other widely used medications — for pregnant women, claiming it may be linked to autism in children.

“I want to say it like it is: Don’t take Tylenol. Don’t take it,” he said. “Fight like hell not to take it.”

Trump had been teasing the announcement for days, as Kennedy and other health officials have pledged to determine the cause of the developmental disorder by September. Researchers who’ve spent decades researching potential causes of autism say that the administration hasn’t uncovered new evidence — and that the existing data still doesn’t support its claims.

“This is not new,” Dr. Allison Bryant, a high-risk obstetrician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said in an earlier interview. “It has bubbled up every now and again with studies that show maybe some kind of association but not clearly showing any cause and effect.”