Trump_Tylenol

Molly Butler / Media Matters

Research/Study Research/Study

Right-wing media and MAHA figures are celebrating Trump’s Tylenol announcement and pushing unproven claims that vaccines cause autism

Some right-wing media figures celebrated the announcement while others pivoted to claim that “Tylenol is not what’s driving this epidemic” and vaccines are “the primary driver”

Written by Jack Winstanley & Payton Armstrong

Research contributions from Helena Hind & Gideon Taaffe

Published

President Donald Trump’s promotion of an unproven connection between the use of Tylenol during pregnancy and autism has drawn widespread rebuke from world health officials and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, even as right-wing influencers cheered the news, declaring that “what was once dismissed as ‘conspiracy’ is now official policy discussion” in the Trump White House.

Right-wing media personalities and “Make America Healthy Again” acolytes have bolstered the HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-created movement to exploit post-pandemic mistrust of public health infrastructure and pharmaceutical companies. Now, they are celebrating the president’s announcement as “incredibly bold” and the “most decisive action that could be taken.” Others highlighted Trump’s comments about vaccines, with some declaring that “Tylenol is not what’s driving this epidemic” and claiming that vaccines are “the primary driver.”

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  • Trump announced the FDA will notify doctors that the use of Tylenol during pregnancy is linked to autism, leading OB-GYNs to denounce the policy as “not backed by the full body of scientific evidence”

    • On September 22, Trump pushed an unproven causal connection between autism and the use of Tylenol (also known as acetaminophen or paracetamol) during pregnancy. In a press conference, Trump thanked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who has a long history of promoting discredited theories about vaccines causing autism — for bringing the subject to the “forefront of American politics, along with me,” adding, “We understood a lot more than a lot of people who studied it.” [CNN, 9/22/25;The Guardian, 9/24/25]
    • World health officials have rejected Trump’s claim that acetaminophen use during pregnancy causes autism. The European Medicines Agency told NBC that “a large amount of data from pregnant women who used paracetamol during pregnancy indicates no risk of malformations on the developing fetus or on newborns.” Australian health officials also rejected the claims, saying they are “a misrepresentation of the science.” [NBC News, 9/23/25]
    • The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — a group that represents more than 60,000 doctors — rebuked Trump’s announcement and called it “irresponsible” and “not backed by the full body of scientific evidence.” The group’s president, Dr. Steven Fleischman, said in a statement: “Today’s announcement by HHS is not backed by the full body of scientific evidence and dangerously simplifies the many and complex causes of neurologic challenges in children,” adding, “it is highly unsettling that our federal health agencies are willing to make an announcement that will affect the health and well-being of millions of people without the backing of reliable data.” [PBS, 9/22/25; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, accessed 9/24/25]
    • Discussing vaccines during the press conference, Trump also said, “Don’t let them pump your baby up with the largest pile of stuff you've ever seen in your life.” However, studies have shown no causal link between vaccines and autism, and “over the last 50 years, it is estimated that essential vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives,” according to UNICEF USA president and CEO Michael J. Nyenhuis. [Reuters, 9/23/23; NPR, 9/23/25]

  • Some right-wing and MAHA media figures praised and endorsed Trump’s press conference connecting Tylenol to autism

    • Ahead of the press conference, Daily Wire host Michael Knowles claimed Trump “has apparently cured autism.” Knowles said that Trump’s announcement was “another feather in the cap” for the administration, which he claimed has “achieved some of the greatest scientific progress in our lifetimes.” [The Daily Wire, The Michael Knowles Show, 9/22/25]
    • On Steve Bannon’s War Room, MAHA Action President Tony Lyons declared: “I don’t think you can look at what happened today and think that it was anything short of the boldest and most decisive action that could be taken.” He added: “They see that the science done for the last 20 or 30 years has been fake corporate science, and so we are getting gold standard science, total transparency, and we’re going to make progress. And there are dozens of possibilities for all of the different chronic diseases, and they’re going to do research into every last one of them.” In July, The Hill reported that Lyons’ group “has launched a six-figure ad campaign backing President Trump” and Kennedy’s MAHA agenda. [Twitter/X, 9/22/25; The Hill, 7/22/25]
    • Podcaster and Kennedy 2024 running mate Nicole Shanahan: “Today was incredibly bold. @POTUS you have exceeded my expectations in truth telling.” She added, “Keep it up, team! This is only the beginning.” [Twitter/X, 9/22/25; Politico, 5/11/24; BlazeTV, accessed 9/24/25]
    • Actor Rob Schneider said, “This incredible and courageous and important news conference would have NEVER happened if President Trump was not elected.” [Twitter/X, 9/22/25; Entertainment Weekly, 10/1/24]
    • Infowars host Alex Jones shared footage of Trump’s press conference and wrote: “Tylenol and so-called ‘vaccines’ eat your brain and liver.” [Twitter/X, 9/23/25]
    • Podcaster Sherri Tenpenny, an ally of Kennedy who has pushed false claims about vaccines, praised the announcement: “What was once dismissed as ‘conspiracy’ is now official policy discussion. The truth always surfaces.” Tenpenny became well-known after she falsely claimed during a 2021 hearing in Ohio that the COVID-19 vaccine makes people “magnetized.” [Twitter/X, 9/22/25; DrTenpenny.com, accessed 9/24/25; Media Matters, 7/19/23; PolitiFact, accessed 9/24/25; Agence France-Presse, 3/3/25]
    • Turning Point USA’s Alex Clark praised Trump for tying Tylenol to autism, writing “We finally have a president that says: ‘I BELIEVE MOTHERS.’” Clark continued, “The most recent studies link Tylenol to autism, and we know that the current vaccine schedule is not helping. President Trump LOVES AND SUPPORTS WOMEN enough to not gaslight them—something the medical establishment REFUSES to do.” [Twitter/X, 9/22/25]
    • On Newsmax, host Chris Plante said that “since the Democrats are so angrily denouncing it and they're wrong about everything, it's probably more likely to be true.” [Newsmax, Chris Plante: Right Squad, 9/22/25]
    • After the announcement, Newsmax host Carl Higbie claimed that “Libs are now pro-autism.” Higbie also stated, “It just seems to me like people who don't like Trump will just do anything to oppose him,” claiming that “pregnant women are posting taking acetaminophen products while pregnant.” During the segment, an on-air graphic read “Libs claim autism ‘doesn’t need to be cured.’” [Newsmax, Carl Higbie Frontline, 9/23/25]

  • Others highlighted Trump’s comments about vaccines, suggesting they are "the primary driver”

    • Alex Jones: “They're going to say it's Tylenol and pesticides but not be specific. … But the main thing is the so-called vaccines.” Jones also said that “on the off chance that they cover it up, I will go to complete war with the administration.” [Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, 9/22/25]
    • MAHA influencer Lauren Lee: “There isn’t one person in MAHA who would fall for the idea that Tylenol is the primary cause of autism. It’s childhood vaccines. We all know it.” [Twitter/X, 9/22/25, 8/8/25; Vanity Fair, 8/7/25; Substack, accessed 9/24/25, accessed 9/24/25, 9/13/24]
    • During an interview on War Room, Mary Holland, CEO of Kennedy-founded Children’s Health Defense, said: “We know Tylenol is not what’s driving this epidemic. … Vaccines are driving this epidemic.” Host Steve Bannon added: “This Tylenol thing stinks to high heaven. Not the fact that Tylenol causes it, but to do it today and then you’re never going to see a report, it’s just going to kind of fade into memory.” Holland noted that she’s worked with Kennedy for “many years” and repeated that “vaccines are the primary cause.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 9/22/25; Politico, 1/29/25]
    • MAHA Action Editor-in-Chief Tracy “Beanz” Diaz, whom NOTUS also described as “a podcaster, YouTuber and writer” and “one of the earliest promoters of the QAnon movement,” said: “It’s the vaccines. There’s my opinion. It isn’t Tylenol.” Diaz, who was hired by MAHA Action in March, reportedly “pushed vaccine skepticism and advocated for the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19” during the pandemic. [Twitter/X, 9/22/25; NOTUS, 3/11/25]
    • Podcaster Thomas Renz, who reportedly “boosted his profile with lawsuits challenging coronavirus vaccines,” said that “Tylenol was made over the counter in 1959. Autism exploded as the childhood vaccine schedule grew. Tylenol isn’t good but vaccines are the root problem.” [Twitter/X, 9/23/25; The Washington Post, 9/20/21, Substack, accessed 9/24/25]
    • Podcaster Peter McCullough, who pushed false claims about vaccines and promoted debunked treatments for COVID-19 during appearances on Fox in 2021, complained, “The pathway to developmental regression begins with vaccines, not acetaminophen.” He added: “A leading cause of Tylenol use during pregnancy is maternal vaccination that started about 25 years ago. Systemic inflammation and the reason why Tylenol is indicated (eg post combination vaccination) is the real driver of encephalitis, and the post-encephalitic state of autism.” [Twitter/X, 9/22/25; America Out Loud Network, 9/24/25; Media Matters, 12/30/21; MSNBC, 6/8/25]
    • On Instagram, Moms Across America, which CNN described as a “grassroots network” founded by a North Carolina mom “cheering for RFK Jr. to ‘Make America Healthy Again,’” posted a graphic that read, “Tylenol adds the fuel, but vaccines strike the match.” [Instagram, 9/23/25; CNN, 12/12/24]
    • Sherri Tenpenny stated that “vaccines are — and always have been — the primary driver of autism.” She added, “Tylenol doesn’t replace that reality, it compounds it. … This is not about either/or. It’s about exposing the entire toxic system that has harmed our children for decades.” [Twitter/X, 9/22/25]
    • On War Room, Toby Rogers, whom Politico has described as “a prominent anti-vaccine activist,” celebrated that Trump went after vaccines, calling his comments the “best case scenario.” Rogers said: “Yesterday was historic. We thought it was just going to be about Tylenol and instead, President Trump went all-in, and he made it very clear that he wants to make major changes to the childhood vaccine schedule to stop the autism epidemic.” These comments follow Rogers' testimony before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, claiming that “after conducting my systematic review of 1,000 studies my belief is that the autism and chronic disease epidemics are primarily caused by toxicants — mostly from vaccines and about a dozen additional toxicants.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 9/23/25; Politico, 9/23/25; Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, 9/9/25]