President Donald Trump finally announced leucovorin as his administration’s long-awaited cure for autism. But as medical professionals began unpacking his statements, there were tangents — including Trump spreading a rumor that Cubans can’t afford Tylenol and therefore have “virtually no autism.”
The idea of spreading a rumor behind the U.S. presidential seal was once unthinkable. That changed when Trump managed the Covid-19 pandemic and claimed he had “heard” you could cure coronavirus by injecting bleach. He infamously suggested it would be “interesting” to see if that would help people’s lungs — a statement that drew immediate backlash.
Few things have changed between Trump then and Trump now. His views on managing the nation’s medical needs still involve distancing the US from WHO experts and fueling vaccine skepticism through Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He also still appears to fully believe in rumors he probably encounters while doomscrolling on Truth Social.
Trump’s new target is now Tylenol. He claimed that the Amish community avoids Tylenol and therefore has no autism — a claim disproven in 2023 by the Public Health Communications Collaborative, which confirmed the Amish community does have children with autism and credited their lower reported rates to differences in medical reporting. Trump also insisted that Cuba is too poor to afford Tylenol and therefore has virtually no autism — but The Times reported that autism rates in Cuba are actually higher than in the U.S. Still, Trump declared, “With Tylenol — don’t take it. Don’t take it!”
Trump: There's a rumor and I don't know if it's so or not—that Cuba, they don't have tylenol because they don't have the money for tylenol, and they have virtually no autism pic.twitter.com/ZkbF4LAShc
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 22, 2025
Medical journalist Dr. Celine Gounder countered on CBS, explaining that studies show no increased risk from pregnant women using Tylenol. She added that, as things stand, Tylenol remains the best recommendation for pregnant women in pain, since opioids and aspirin are more dangerous. Regarding leucovorin, the cure Trump is touting, Dr. Gounder emphasized that parents first need appropriate testing to determine whether it is relevant to their child’s particular type of autism.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists released a statement that read in part: “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.” When asked about this during his press conference, Trump dismissed it outright as “establishment stuff.”
Online, the reaction to Trump’s latest agenda was furious. One doctor quickly debunked his claims about the Amish and Cuba lacking acetaminophen-based medicine, calling them “misinformed lies.” Others pointed out the irony that this autism announcement was first teased at a gun violence funeral — a reminder that while Republicans have found supposed ties between Tylenol and autism, they still have yet to acknowledge the connection between guns and gun violence.
Yes, autism exists in the Amish community.
— Craig Spencer MD MPH (@Craig_A_Spencer) September 22, 2025
Yes, Cuba has acetaminophen.
Yes, this is just one misinformed lie after another.
Weird how Republicans can link Tylenol to autism with no evidence but can't see the link between guns and mass shootings despite a mountain of evidence.
— Covie (@covie_93) September 22, 2025
Perhaps the real reason funding for medical research keeps getting cut is because Trump insists on relying on rumors, TikTok wellness hacks, and whatever Joe Rogan said on a podcast microphone last week.
According to reports, however, there are mothers across the nation who have fully bought into the Trump administration’s claims — science or no science. And that is the real danger.
