‘Ah-ced-uv... let’s see how we say that’: Trump struggles to pronounce ‘acetaminophen’ as he links Tylenol to autism | WATCH
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Ah-ced-uv... let’s see how we say that’: Trump struggles to pronounce ‘acetaminophen’ as he links Tylenol to autism | WATCH")
US President Donald Trump speaks about autism in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC on September 22, 2025. Photograph: (AFP)
Trump linked Tylenol to autism. He advised pregnant women should use acetaminophen only when necessary for high fevers, in the smallest dose and shortest time possible.
During the Rose Garden briefing on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on Monday (Sep 22), US President Donald Trump made a claim that Tylenol is linked to a higher risk of autism. But while doing so, the US president stumbled over the word ‘acetaminophen’ – a word he did not know how to pronounce. As Trump struggled to pronounce the name of the active ingredient in Tylenol, the awkward moment became the highlight of the event and went viral on the internet.
While addressing reporters and health officials, Trump attempted to read the word from his notes. “Ah-ced-uv… well, let’s see how we say that. Ascenem – enophin. Acetaminophen. Is that ok?” he said, drawing laughter from the crowd. The clips of the brief moment quickly circulated on social media, including X, TikTok, and Instagram, as netizens compared it to his past gaffes like “yo-Semites” for Yosemite in 2018.
During the briefing, Trump told pregnant women in the United States to avoid Tylenol and “tough it out”. “Taking Tylenol is not good. I’ll say it. Don’t take Tylenol,” Trump said. Kennedy added, “This isn’t a ban—it’s science.”
What did Trump say?
Trump linked the common painkiller, known as paracetamol outside the US, to autism. He advised pregnant women should use acetaminophen only when necessary for high fevers, in the smallest dose and shortest time possible. His claims are not backed by medical consensus.
Trump further claimed that Cuba has virtually no autism, as it lacks Tylenol and pointed to the Amish as another group with essentially no autism. “There’s a rumour—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,” he said.
Meanwhile, health professionals in the US have warned that Trump’s claims were “dangerous” and “full of misinformation”. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists warned that avoiding Tylenol entirely without alternatives may put the mothers and unborn children at risk.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said, “a causal relationship (between acetaminophen and autism) has not been established,” and debate in the scientific community is ongoing.
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WHO quashes Trump’s claims
The World Health Organization on Tuesday (Sep 22) slammed Trump’s recent claims on Tylenol as “inconsistent”, saying that neither the painkiller nor vaccines have been shown to cause autism.
WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told reporters that while some observational studies had suggested that autism may be possibly linked with acetaminophen or paracetamol, the primary ingredient in Tylenol, others had “found no such relationship.” He further stated that “the evidence remains inconsistent”.
Jasarevic added that there was no doubt that “vaccines do not cause autism.”
