Thune Splits with Trump on Tylenol, Free Speech
Thinks science should guide drug and medical decisions Dana Bash and Sen. John Thune.
By Todd Epp, Northern Plains News
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is breaking with the Trump administration on two fronts — a warning about Tylenol and the government’s role in what Americans see on TV.
Speaking on CNN’s Inside Politics, Thune pushed back after President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested pregnant women should avoid Tylenol because of a supposed autism risk. CNN noted the claim is not supported by science.
Thune, who became a grandfather again seven months ago, said he took the issue personally. “I think that science ought to guide these discussions,” he said. “We ought to be very guarded in making broad assertions and make sure they are well-grounded in science and medicine.”
He added that Kennedy, as HHS secretary, must work to restore public trust. Thune said Senate hearings would give lawmakers a chance to question Kennedy and make sure decisions are rooted in medical evidence.
According to Politico, Thune also stressed that many doctors disagree with the administration’s warning. “There are an awful lot of people in the medical community who come to a different conclusion about the use of Tylenol,” he said.
Politico reported Thune went further, criticizing the White House for leaning on broadcasters after ABC briefly pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! from the air. Nexstar and Sinclair stations had preempted the show before it returned Tuesday.
Thune said the “coercive use of government” in programming decisions crossed a line. “As a general matter, my view is that the government ought not be in the business of trying to decide what people can and cannot say,” he said, according to Politico’s account of the CNN interview.
The South Dakota Republican has been in the Senate since 2005 and rose to majority leader earlier this year. Politico reported his comments as a rare split from Trump on both public health and free speech.
Says the guy who 1) approved RFK Jr’s nomination and 2) passed a law to make it easier for Republicans to pass trump’s nominations. Maybe if he would take that process SERIOUSLY, we wouldn’t be where we are with RFK Jr spreading fear and lies outside of science.
At least you are saying something. Thank you, Senator Thune. Keep telling the truth, even when it isn’t politically expedient.
the only way to “prove” the tylenol-autism connection is to recruit at least 1000 pregnant women to participate in a double-blind study. Half will take Tylenol every day and the other half will take a placebo.
Wait three years to see how the kids turn out. After the kids are diagnosed, reveal which moms got the Tylenol and which didn’t..
Good luck getting a research grant for THAT.
Already been done. And no proof found whatsoever.
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/study-reveals-no-causal-link-between-neurodevelopmental-disorders-acetaminophen-exposure-before-birth
no it wasn’t done. It requires self-reporting. This is a mess
People will take a multi-symptom cold medicine containing acetaminophen and then deny they take tylenol. They do the same thing with elixirs with a significant alcohol content. They don’t even know what’s in the stuff they are taking. Or when asked what they have been taking, they don’t remember.
They don’t read labels, they don’t remember what they have consumed, so studies which rely on self-reporting are unreliable.
You could have said you don’t know how a scientific study is done by just saying so. Would’ve saved you a bunch of typing.
I worked for Ernest B Hook MD as a research tech.
355 publications to peruse. Start reading.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ernest-Hook
and one thing I think should be studied when relying on self-reporting by pregnant women: pregnancy -related brain fog & memory loss.
At one large medical center, a QA officer observed that pregnant nurses make more medication errors, of the missed or late dose type. Pregnant nurses would forget to give drugs. She said she had learned to suspect pregnancy when the incident reports came across her desk, and had even stared confronting the nurses involved. The medication errors would start coming in before some of them even knew they were pregnant.
Relying on pregnant women to accurately report their own drug use is a folly.
The manner in which some of you will work backwards to justify every stupid thing one man says blows my mind.
There was a drug called Bendectin, which Merril-Dow decided to quit making in 1983 because of all the lawsuits.It didn’t cause birth defects but they couldn’t make enough money off it to keep fighting.
The drug rep told the story of the last straw: a woman blamed Bendectin because something (I forget what) was wrong with her baby, and it was revealed that she had also consumed caffeine and alcohol, and smoked both pot and tobacco. “But those aren’t drugs,” she explained.
I’ve got a crisp $100 bill that says Thune wouldn’t go on Jimmy Kimmel and re-quote that.
The Orange Gassbag would tar and feather him.
In case you haven’t heard, he’s back on the air.
You thin skins should have a field day with that.
Free speech… the administration wants to ban foreigners from visiting the US if they were overly critical of Charlie Kirk. They want to rid of military personnel too. Dump college professors. And comedians. On and on.
They aren’t banning folks who said similar things about liberals, are they? And who has the time to comb through billions of online messages to see who they think is out of line, and make those determinations.
But this isn’t about Charlie Kirk, anyway. This is about loyalty to one man… and it isn’t him.
It’s just more palatable if you claim that it’s done on behalf of Charlie Kirk after his assassination. He is the justification for this.
It’s too early in the administration to ban speech critical of the president himself. That will come later, after Americans are accustomed to this. He’s already telling the press that they better fall in line. The rest of us aren’t far behind.
BRAVO, Senator!
Th eight thousand pound elephant in the room, is that you even allowed a vote to confirm Kennedy to go forward, and expected all of us to not point out that approving him was the stupidest and most craven act ever. If you could have a single poster child to represent everything wrong inside this administration, RFK Jr would be that poster child.
This admin is dangerous. Discrediting Tylenol while hawking a dr Oz snake oil cure. Just more of the Trump admin grift while the economy crumbles. What’s it like with so much winning?
When the fringe Right Wing Wackos and the extreme Liberal left hate you, you are the type of guy I want doing the job. Someone who is actually able to get things accomplished and across the finish line. Thank-you Senator Thune!
When numerous ex republicans tell you that your craven actions forced them to leave the party FOR CAUSE – you should worry. Thune isn’t being thanked for anything.
About GD time Thune grow a spine and say the quiet part out loud for once. Good grief. Science should guide Healthcare, it always has, and it has served us very well.