Barack Obama blasted Donald Trump over comments linking Tylenol to autism, calling it “violence against the truth” that could endanger pregnant women.
Obama, speaking with David Olusoga at London’s O2 Arena, said his successor’s remarks were “continuously disproved” and harmful to public health.
“We have the spectacle of my successor in the Oval Office making broad claims around certain drugs and autism that have been continuously disproved,” Obama said. “It undermines public health … that can do harm to women.”
Trump on Monday had said: “Taking Tylenol is not good … All pregnant women should talk to their doctors about limiting the use of this medication while pregnant.”UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting told women to ignore Trump’s comments.
Obama warned of a “tug of war” between two visions for America and the world, one rooted in democracy and the other led by populists like Trump seeking a return to an older conservative worldview.
“My successor has not been particularly shy about it,” Obama said. “That desire is to go back to a very particular way of thinking about America, where ‘we, the people,’ is just some people, not all people. And where there are some pretty clear hierarchies in terms of status and who ranks where.”
He also criticized progressives who he said became “complacent” and “smug” in the 1990s and 2000s, claiming values without ever being tested.
Obama did not mention Trump by name, instead referring to him as “my successor.”
We have people in power making broad claims around certain drugs and autism that have been continuously disproven. The degree to which those comments can undermine public health, do harm to women who are pregnant, create anxiety for parents who do have children who are autistic –… pic.twitter.com/rxCZ7OIzs8
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 25, 2025
The evening began with Olusoga welcoming London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who was criticized by Trump at the UN earlier in the week.
Khan responded to Trump by saying he was “racist, sexist, misogynistic, and Islamophobic.”
Obama is in London as part of a European speaking tour that will take him to Dublin on Friday, where he will receive the Freedom of the City of Dublin on Thursday.
On Monday in the Roosevelt Room, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., standing next to President Trump, made the Tylenol announcement.
“For too long, families have been left without answers or options as autism rates have soared,” Kennedy said. “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.”
“First, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will act on a potential treatment for speech-related deficits associated with ASD. The FDA today is publishing a Federal Register notice outlining a label update for leucovorin for cerebral folate deficiency, which has been associated with autism. This action establishes the first FDA-recognized therapeutic for children with cerebral folate deficiency and autistic symptoms,” a briefing from The White House said.
“The change will authorize treatment for children with ASD, with continued use if children show language, social, or adaptive gains. Following the label update for ASD, state Medicaid programs will be able to cover leucovorin for the indication of ASD, in partnership with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Finally, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will launch confirmatory trials and new research into the impact of leucovorin including safety studies, it said.
“While promising, it is important to note that leucovorin is not a cure for ASD and may only lead to improvements in speech-related deficits for a subset of children with ASD,” it said.