Barack Obama waded back into the vaccine and autism debate, accusing the Trump administration of committing what he called “violence against the truth” with fresh claims about Tylenol, pregnancy, and autism. Speaking at London’s O2 Arena, Obama said his successor was making sweeping assertions about common medicines and childhood diagnoses that science has repeatedly failed to prove. “We have the spectacle of my successor in the Oval Office making broad claims around certain drugs and autism that have been continuously disproved,” he said, in remarks his office shared with reporters.
Obama argued that rhetoric like this carries real world consequences, per CNN. “The degree to which that undermines public health, the degree to which that can do harm to women who are pregnant, the degree to which that creates anxiety for parents who do have children who are autistic, which by the way itself is subject to a spectrum, and a lot of what is being trumpeted as these massive increases actually have to do with a broadening of the criteria across that spectrum, so that people can actually get services and help,” he said. “All of that is violence against the truth.”
His comments landed just two days after a White House press conference that kicked off the storm. President Donald Trump announced that the Food and Drug Administration would notify doctors that using Tylenol during pregnancy can be associated with a “very increased risk of autism.” He also promoted a mix of unproven theories about autism, Tylenol, and vaccines, even as his team highlighted a more cautious plan to add a warning to acetaminophen labels, commit 50 million dollars for further autism research, and fast track a potential treatment.
That split, a punchy headline paired with a careful policy step, helped fuel confusion among patients and providers. Doctors’ groups stressed that guidance on acetaminophen in pregnancy has long been the same, use the lowest effective dose, only as needed, and talk to a clinician.
Physicians also warned that untreated fever and severe pain can pose risks of their own during pregnancy, so blanket fear is not sound medical advice. Researchers pointed out that studies suggesting a link between Tylenol and autism tend to be observational, which can flag correlations but cannot prove causation, and that better controlled analyses often shrink or eliminate the apparent signal.
Obama’s broader point was about trust. When leaders amplify shaky claims, he argued, people who are already anxious hear a siren instead of a guideline. Parents who have children on the spectrum feel blamed rather than helped. Expectant mothers get spooked about the only widely recommended pain and fever reducer during pregnancy. And the public conversation around autism, which has moved significantly toward earlier identification and wider access to services, gets yanked backward into old myths.
The administration has insisted it is simply pushing for transparency and more research. Health officials say the label update is meant to reflect ongoing study, not to declare a verdict, and that the new research dollars will help clarify what is and is not risky in pregnancy. Critics counter that the way the announcement was framed leapt far ahead of the evidence and muddied a message that should have been straightforward.
