When I was in middle school, I learned about the very important distinction between correlation and causation. My sixth-grade math teacher practically drilled the following concept into our heads: correlation does not equal causation. While it might have been hard to believe it then, it is now evident that a class of 12-year-olds is more qualified to address the nation regarding the relationship between autism and Tylenol than the current president of the United States.
At a White House event on Sept. 22, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that acetaminophen is linked to autism. He stated, “Don’t take Tylenol. Don’t take it. Fight like hell not to take it.” President Trump went as far as telling pregnant women to “tough it out” unless “medically necessary.”
The claim has been disputed repeatedly, with experts on the subject pushing back against these claims. Helen Tager-Flusberg, director of the Center for Autism Research Excellence (CARE) at Boston University and founder of the Coalition of Autism Scientists, has stressed that these claims heavily distort the data (Manuel & Martin, 2025). Brian Lee, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Drexel University, stated that “the association was not a causal one, and it was most likely due to other factors like genetics, infections, fevers, that sort of thing” (Aubrey, 2025). Sura Alwan, a clinical teratologist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, emphasizes this point, stating that “The evidence does not support a causal link between acetaminophen or vaccines and autism.”
The bottom line: there has been no new evidence that would provide this claim, and professionals in the field are refuting this claim left and right.
While it is inconceivably alarming that an elected official, let alone a national leader, would incite fear among the population to this degree with no evidence showing causality, this claim speaks to a broader issue regarding misinformation and vulnerable populations. Donald Trump has consistently pushed back against science, especially in periods of national crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. He has used information as a weapon, discouraging people from wearing masks or suggesting the use of disinfectant to treat coronavirus (Victor et al., 2020; BBC, 2020). He practically gave Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a heart attack, throwing out false claims about the pandemic whenever he had the chance and leaving Fauci to clean up his mess.
Instead of targeting vulnerable populations fearful of catching a potentially fatal illness, he is now targeting soon-to-be parents, attempting to invoke fear over a claim with no scientific ground.
Trump uses his position as a member of the political elite to establish a false reality for the American public: he wants people to be scared and, as a result, begin to reject any ideas that are not his. “If the president is saying it, it must be true.”
Regardless of how many people reject these claims, hearing such information from a figure of authority will inevitably influence some people to abide by this information. Some women will stop taking Tylenol, even though it tends to be a lifeline for many during pregnancy and they will face unnecessarily greater levels of pain during their pregnancy as a result.
While the claims themselves are alarming, it is the greater implications of these claims that present the largest issue: Trump is preying on vulnerable populations through the use of misinformation as a power play. He knows his claims are false, yet he continues to make them on a national stage as a means to leave the American population living in fear and unaware of what is true or false. He twists scientific evidence to fit a specific reality, despite it being far from the truth, as a means to undermine the media, science, and government agencies, thereby positioning himself as the sole source of important information and consolidating his political control.
We should continue to push back against Trump’s misinformation, but we must acknowledge that somebody somewhere is following what he says. Somebody somewhere will have a deteriorated quality of life as a result of someone they put substantial trust in. This is inevitable, and as long as Trump has a platform, this will continue to be reality.