--- title: "Trump’s Top Anti-Tylenol Expert Was Paid to Hate Tylenol, Records Show" description: "Trump's anti-Tylenol expert received at least $150,000 as an expert witness during several lawsuits aimed at Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol." date: "2025-09-27" modified: "2025-09-27" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/health-medicine/trump-top-anti-tylenol-expert-paid" categories: - "Brain" - "Future Society" - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Mental Health" - "Science & Energy" - "Studies" --- # Trump’s Top Anti-Tylenol Expert Was Paid to Hate Tylenol, Records Show ![Trump's anti-Tylenol expert received at least $150,000 as an expert witness during several lawsuits aimed at Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol.]() *Getty / Wikimedia Commons / Futurism* President Donald Trump [made baffling remarks]() during a Monday press conference, claiming that pregnant women should avoid Tylenol, the brand name of acetaminophen, arguing that it was associated with a "very increased" risk of autism. It was a new low for the Trump administration, leading to [widespread outrage and incredulity among experts](). Then things got even sketchier when the [*New York Times* revealed]() that the researcher behind the studies cited during Monday's press conference had a financial interest in warning users against the use of Tylenol. Andrea Baccarelli, the dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, received at least $150,000 as an expert witness during several lawsuits aimed at Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol, federal court filings reviewed by the newspaper show. It's a glaring conflict of interest, and a worrying example of how the Trump administration is using quack science to further a pseudoscientific agenda. Worse yet, it's using baseless evidence linked to civil litigation to justify its claims. A federal judge dismissed the suits aimed at the Tylenol maker, which were filed by families who claimed their children developed autism or ADHD after using Tylenol during pregnancy. The judge cited a lack of reliable scientific evidence and agreed with the defendants that Baccarelli had "cherry-picked and misrepresented study results," according to the *NYT*. While plenty of research has gone into examining a possible link between autism and acetaminophen use by pregnant women, no substantive connection has been found. Even the World Health Organization has also since pushed back against Trump's claims, pointing out that "extensive research, including large-scale studies over the past decade, has found no consistent association," in a [statement](). The [study]() cited by FDA commissioner Marty Makary during Monday's press conference evaluated 46 existing studies, and found that there was an "association" between a higher risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children and "exposure to acetaminophen during pregnancy." But to experts, the study simply didn't pass muster. Baccarelli "repackaged \[the study\] for journal publication to give it the appearance of legitimacy," immunologist and science communicator Andrea Love [tweeted]() following the press conference. "He cherry-picked studies and gave parent memory more weight than hard data." The paper is "tossed-out courtroom testimony, dressed up for PubMed," Love added in a [followup](). "Legitimizing bad science with dangerous policy endangers you when your decisions are based on fear, not facts." Even worse, Baccarrelli himself has since attempted to distance himself from the situation, warning that "further research is needed to confirm the association and determine causality," per the *NYT*. It's far from the first time the Trump administration has made headlines for making baseless scientific claims. Trump's appointed health secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., a notorious anti-vaxxer, has previously called the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine [into question](), while [promoting unproven and potentially dangerous]() alternative treatments. Kennedy has also made unfounded claims about mass shootings [being caused by video games]() and put a [fellow anti-vaccine zealot in charge]() of investigating nonexistent links between vaccines and autism. The Trump administration has also made devastating budget cuts to [medical research](), triggering a [major brain drain](). The news comes less than a month after Centers for Disease Control public health official Demetre Daskalakis [quit in spectacular fashion](), protesting against the government's descent into an "Idiocracy"-style assault on science. "I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health," he wrote in a [resignation letter](). **More on RFK Jr.:** [*Trump Shutting Down Cancer Research*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()