What “Just Do Something” Looks Like In Practice

Speaking in Phoenix, AZ at the memorial of slain conservative icon Charlie Kirk on Sunday, September 21st, President Trump took a moment to discuss a press conference scheduled for the next day. The president stated, “I think we found an answer to autism,” and went so far as to frame the announcement as “one of the biggest announcements, medically, in the history of our country.”

Most politicians, including the 45th and 47th president, are fond of using lofty language, and both Trump and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s statements revealed far less meat on the bone than the categorization of one of the biggest announcements in history would suggest. “Today, we are taking bold action—opening the door to the first FDA-recognized treatment pathway, informing doctors and families about potential risks, and investing in groundbreaking research. We will follow the science, restore trust, and deliver hope to millions of American families,” said Kennedy.

Trump administration officials cited an NIH study of 996 infants at the Boston Medical Center between 1998-2018 that suggests a slight increase in ADHD and autism among children exposed to acetaminophen in utero. The administration directed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to initiate a label change for Tylenol and other acetaminophen products to alert pregnant women of potential connections between the drug and neurological disorders. Buried in the same press release, however, was a clarification that appears to contradict the assertions of Kennedy and others. “It is important to note that while an association between acetaminophen and neurological conditions has been described in many studies, a causal relationship has not been established and there are contrary studies in the scientific literature. It is also noted that acetaminophen is the only over-the-counter drug approved for use to treat fevers during pregnancy, and high fevers in pregnant women can pose a risk to their children. Additionally, aspirin and ibuprofen have well-documented adverse impacts on the fetus.”

A much larger study out of Sweden released last year that followed nearly 2.5 million children further contradicts the White House’s position on acetaminophen and autism. Initially, the study found a slight association between use of the painkiller and autism, but the correlation disappears entirely when sibling controls are added, suggesting that the cause of autism in the affected children is likely genetic. “To address unobserved confounding, matched full sibling pairs were also analyzed. Sibling control analyses found no evidence that acetaminophen use during pregnancy was associated with autism,” the study found.

There are legitimate reasons why Americans are growing more distrustful of Big Pharma. President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, and the Biden administration subsequent attempt to force all Americans to take the experimental COVID-19 vaccines, going so far as to deputize the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and task the agency with handling forced vaccinations, turned the entire pharmaceutical industry into a political football. The bald-faced lies surrounding the efficacy of the drugs, as well as the full-court-press by the state and its enablers in the press to divide Americans on the issue of vaccination undoubtedly led to a man such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. heading up HHS.

After enduring the most widespread and well-funded propaganda campaign in human history during the pandemic, many Americans, especially on the political Right, were ready for wholesale change. Voters demanded that Trump and his team “do something” to upset the apple cart, and, like former President Biden’s pledge that he would cure cancer during his term, Team Trump started making promises that they were never going to be able to live up to. I have no doubt that the president, Kennedy, and the rest of the administration would like nothing more than to find the origins of autism, but, surely, they know that they have not done so; they likely felt cornered by their supporters into “doing something,” even if that something is next to meaningless.

We watched this same phenomenon play out over the supposed “Epstein list.” Conservative activists Kash Patel and Dan Bongino now lead the FBI, and both men had focused on the release of the Epstein list as a top priority for the last several years when the two were working in the private sector. Pam Bondi, former Florida Attorney General and Trump lawyer who now heads up the DOJ, had made similar statements and instead of admitting that they had no hard evidence on Epstein’s alleged clients, the desire to prove to Republican voters that they are “fighters” who are “doing something” led to the bizarre decision to bring in right-wing social media influencers to the White House and hand out binders full of documents that had already been public record for years. Of course, this strategy predictably backfired.

Trump and Kennedy’s ill-advised comments and directives on Tylenol and autism will backfire, too. The science is not on their side, and scaring millions of mothers in the name of “doing something” is an unwise political strategy. It would behoove politicians to be honest with their supporters when they receive data that does not line up with popular opinion, and it would behoove voters to understand that the state is not coming to save you. Make the best decisions possible for the health of your family, with the consultation of a trusted physician. If a president, or any politician you support comes through on a campaign promise, great! If not, as the overwhelming majority of campaign promises go unfulfilled, remember that the buck stops with you, not the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.