‘Fight like hell not to take it’: Trump’s Tylenol warning softened by Vance and Oz as top Republican sounds alarm

President Donald Trump caused a stir this week when he and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told pregnant women to avoid Tylenol. They said the common pain medicine is linked to autism. The claims have split doctors and worried top Republican leaders who think the government should not make such statements without solid proof.

According to The Hill, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he was very worried about what Trump said during a CNN interview Wednesday. “I’m obviously very concerned about that. I am a father and a grandfather and just have, as of about seven months ago, a newborn grandson,” Thune told Dana Bash. He made it clear this issue matters to him personally.

Trump gave his strongest warning Monday at a White House event. “I want to say it like it is: Don’t take Tylenol. Don’t take it. Fight like hell not to take it,” he told pregnant women. The president talked about studies that suggest a link between the pain medicine and autism, but doctors are not sure if there is a real connection.

Government officials try to soften the message

After Trump’s strong comments, several top officials tried to tone down what the administration was saying. Vice President JD Vance told NewsNation that pregnant women should just listen to their doctors. “What I took from the president’s announcement and also the CDC’s recommendations here is we just have to be careful. We know some of these medications have side effects,” Vance said.

Mehmet Oz, who runs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, also took a gentler approach. He said pregnant women with high fevers should talk to doctors, noting that doctors might still give them Tylenol in some cases. “If you have a high fever, you ought to be talking to a doctor anyway. The doctor’s almost certainly going to prescribe you something. Tylenol might be one of the things they give,” Oz said Tuesday. The fight adds to growing problems around RFK Jr’s broader autism research initiative that aims to find causes by September.

Doctors are still not sure whether taking Tylenol during pregnancy raises autism risk. The science on Tylenol and autism isn’t clear, despite President Trump’s claims, health experts say. The pain medicine has been used for many years in Tylenol and many other drugstore medications as a pain and fever reducer during pregnancy.Thune said the government should be more careful about making big medical claims. “I think there are an awful lot of people in the medical community who come to a different conclusion about the use of Tylenol. Obviously my view is we ought to be very guarded in making broad assertions and make sure that they are well grounded in science and medicine,” the Senate leader said. His words show that more Republicans are getting uncomfortable with how the administration talks about health issues without clear scientific backing, as GOP lawmakers increasingly challenge Kennedy’s controversial health policies.