Despite the advertised focus on acetaminophen, Trump repeatedly brought up vaccines during his big autism announcement yesterday.
As expected, President Donald Trump and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took the podium Monday afternoon to blame acetaminophen (known by the brand name Tylenol) for causing autism—an assertion that many experts reject. But both men also took some time to point the finger at one of their favorite scapegoats: vaccines.
Throughout yesterday’s news conference announcing the HHS’ apparent findings on autism, ostensibly focused on acetaminophen and folate deficiency, Trump and Kennedy repeatedly circled back to the topic of vaccination. The two tossed out familiar and regularly debunked talking points from the antivaccination movement, such as the supposed dangers of taking too many vaccines at once. These moments, off-script as they may have been, are a strong signal that RFK Jr. and his allies are still planning to officially blame vaccines for causing autism.Veering off course
The HHS announcement on autism released yesterday, not so much a report as it is a purported fact sheet, mostly concerned the drugs acetaminophen and leucovorin, the latter being a medication used to treat certain kinds of folate deficiency. Outside scientists have already torn apart the findings, arguing they’re based, at best, on weak and mixed evidence. But that didn’t stop Trump and RFK Jr. from loudly proclaiming during the conference that they’ve come closer than anyone yet to finding the true answer to rising reported autism rates. Actual experts say most of the rise is simply due to better screening and expanded criteria for what qualifies as autism.
Trump certainly emphasized the primary findings, more than once yelling at pregnant women to not take Tylenol and to instead tough out their episodes of pain and fever since it apparently comes with no drawbacks. Leaving aside the misery of having to bear these symptoms without medication, fever during pregnancy may be a risk factor for neurodevelopmental conditions like autism. He also wrongly stated that Cuba has no autism, presumably because the country has reduced access to acetaminophen.
