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Comedian Jon Stewart and his audience were among those mocking President Trump’s pronunciation of acetaminophen on Monday.
The president struggled to pronounce the medicine during a press conference in which he advised pregnant women to avoid taking the drug due to an alleged connection to autism in children. Acetaminophen is the primary ingredient in Tylenol, widely used for pain relief.
“Well, let’s see how we say that…” Trump said. The president then pronounced the word, barely, and sheepishly asked, “Is that ok?”
Stewart, during his evening broadcast of “The Daily Show,” responded “No!” emphatically.
“We would like a second opinion, and a third pronunciation,” Stewart said, to howls from the crowd. “Look, there’s already a ton of controversy around the lack of data tying acetaminophen in pregnancy to autism. And you can’t even be bothered to pronounce the f—ing word correctly?”
Trump issued the guidance alongside Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other top health officials.
The White House cited multiple studies linking acetaminophen exposure during prenatal development to neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the studies do not identify a causal link between the two.
“Despite assertions to the contrary, a thorough review of existing research suggesting a potential link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and an increased risk of autism and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children has not established a causal relationship,” the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine said in a statement Monday.
Stewart noted that Trump was able to pronounce Tylenol because it was “the one word you recognize from your medicine cabinet.” He also referred to the medication as “plaintiff A,” implying that Kenvue — Tylenol’s manufacturer — could sue the Trump administration over the president’s assertions.
“We believe independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism,” Kenvue said in a statement Monday.
