MIKEY SMITH: 14 unhinged Donald Trump moments as he holds increasingly bizarre autism press conference

Donald Trump last night delivered one of the most unhinged, grimly hilarious and downright dangerous press conferences since the Covid pandemic.

And that's a high bar to clear.

His announcements that Tylenol might maybe cause autism and vaccines also maybe, possibly, probably cause autism are based on no new information or evidence.

They will almost certainly lead to reduced vaccine take-up, and more deaths from preventable diseases like measles.

Meanwhile in Trumpworld

Their own studies don't back up their claims

Pregnant women should just 'tough it out'

Trump couldn't even pronounce the name of the drug

The vaccines, they did it too

'This is about how I feel'

Jimmy Kimmel is back

Here's everything that's happened in the last 24 hours that you need to know.

1. His big idea for solving autism? Cut down on the Paracetamol

So at Charlie Kirk's funeral on Sunday, Trump teased that his administration had found "the solution for autism".

Turns out this "solution" amounts to longstanding advice that pregnant women shouldn't take too much paracetamol. And by 'too much' we mean like four weeks on the bounce. Not the odd pill to deal with aches, or a fever.

But that advice isn't anything to do with autism...it's just common sense.

And that's where we get to the guy standing behind the President. No, not TV quack Dr Oz, the other guy. The world's croakiest boomer nepobaby, RFK Jr.

You see, in the few months since being appointed Health Secretary, he's somehow managed to undertake a major piece of gold-standard scientific work, reviewing the research into the suggestion that paracetamol - known in the states as acetaminophen, or Tylenol - could be linked to autism.

And given what you know about long-time antivaxxer and conspiracy theorist RFK Jr, you'll be stunned that he says his review found some evidence.

2. Except that's not ...at all...what their own research says

The study, undertaken by Andrea Baccarelli, the Dean of Public Health at Harvard, did not find a "causal link" between paracetamol use and autism.

What it did find was "evidence of an association between exposure to acetaminophen during pregnancy and increased incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders in children" - which is a different thing.

A "causal link" would mean they've found evidence - any evidence - that one thing is caused by the other.

An association just means the two factors have been observed to happen together.

A handy shorthand is sports gear. There's an association between people who buy sports gear and a reduced risk of heart failure.

Does that mean the sports gear caused the lower risk of heart failure? Of course not. It just means people who buy sports gear are more likely to be physically active.

Likewise, there may be another factor that means people who have autistic children tended to take a lot of paracetamol.

3. There are some other problems with the "evidence"

First of all, it's absolutely true that the number of autism diagnoses has skyrocketed over the last couple of decades.

But if that was caused by mums taking Tylenol, then there would be a corresponding increase in consumption of Tylenol in the US.

And there isn't.

The study didn't appear to consider the most likely explanation for an increase in cases.

Left-handedness was considered at best not a real thing, and at worst the work of the devil until relatively recently, at which point the prevalence skyrocketed.

Similarly, many symptoms now considered to be evidence of autism spectrum disorders would 30 years ago have been considered evidence that a kid was weird or stupid.

4. So what *has* caused the increase of autism diagnoses?

Well, we don't really know. But the study didn't appear to consider the most likely explanation for an increase in cases - improved diagnostic techniques and changes to criteria.

Left-handedness was considered at best not a real thing, and at worst the work of the devil until relatively recently, at which point the prevalence skyrocketed.

Similarly, many symptoms now considered to be evidence of autism spectrum disorders would 30 years ago have been considered evidence that a kid was weird or stupid.

5. Just tough it out

Worth noting that paracetamol is the only thing pregnant women are allowed to take for pain during pregnancy.

But Trump says the only downside to not taking Tylenol during pregnancy is that women will have to "tough it out."

6. Trump had a lot of trouble pronouncing the name of the drug

Highly capable super genius Donald Trump struggled repeatedly to read the name of the drug he'd called an entire press conference about.

Eventually he just settled on its brand name, Tylenol.

7. But once he got the hang of it, he was super clear

He said "don't take Tylenol" over and over again, returning to the phrase literally dozens of times during the presser.

Like, so many times that you wonder if he has shares in Advil.

8. Oh and vaccines. Them too, obviously

Of course, it wouldn't have been an RFK Jr if there weren't some damaging, evidence-free guff about vaccines, maybe, possibly, kinda causing autism.

To be clear, there is no evidence, nor studies that show vaccines have anything to do with autism.

Still, Trump suggested that all-in-one vaccines contained "80" different vaccines, which they don't, that they "pump ...too much liquid" into babies, which they don't, and they could maybe, sorta, have something to do with autism, which they don't.

"Don't let them pump your baby up with the largest pile of stuff you've ever seen in your life," he said.

"I think it's very bad. They're pumping, it looks like they're pumping into a horse," he added. "You have a little child. A little fragile child. And you've got a vat of 80 different vaccines, I guess, 80 different blends, and they pump it in."

Then Trump claimed, again, that there's no downside for splitting up vaccines into four or five visits to the doctor as opposed to an all-in-one like the MMR jab.

In reality, there are many drawbacks to this approach.

First off, five trips to the doctor in the US is five times more expensive, in terms of admin and visit fees, than one.

Then there's the increased pain and discomfort for the child, the fact that people are busy and forgetful - so maybe you don't turn up for one or more of your doses.

And most importantly, it indicates that there's maybe something in this idea that vaccines cause cancer, which there absolutely is not.

9. 'It's about what I feel'

Wondering on what basis Trump is giving out medical advice?

"This is based on what I feel. The mumps, measles and -- the three should be taken separately. And it seems to be that when you mix them, there could be a problem," Trump said.

"So there's no downside in taking them separately. In fact, they think it's better. So let it be separate."

There are downsides, see above, and nobody thinks it's better.

If any of this is reminding you of his Covid era to inject patients with disinfectant, you're not alone.

10. What about the Amish? Or the Cubans?

At various points, Trump claimed that two communities have zero rates of autism. He was wrong, but that's almost not the point.

First he made the claim about Amish people.

You know what else the Amish have almost none of? Modern medical diagnostics.

And you know what they actually have one of in Pennsylvania? A medical facility specifically designed to treat Amish people with autism.

Next! What about the cubans? They can't even afford Tylenol.

There are, according to the Cuban government about 4 per 10,000 children with Autism Spectrum disorder, but they don't use the same benchmarks and criteria as the rest of the world.

11. Then there was the thing about Hepatitis B

Trump claimed that because it's "sexually transmitted", the Hep B vaccine shouldn't be given to anyone under 18.

Which, again, is nonsense. Hep B isn't just transmitted sexually. It can be passed from mother to child, and between family members in the home.

So no, probably not best to wait for secondary school

12. On the other hand...

Trump and his backers fast-tracked the approval of the cancer drug Leucovorin, noting that it may work on helping kids with autism develop their speech.

Honestly? This is probably a good thing. Initial results from recent clinical trials are positive.

Carry on.

13. Guess who's back...back again...Jimmy's back...

ABC will reinstate Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show in the wake of criticism over his comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, officials with the network said Monday.

"We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” ABC said a statement.

ABC suspended Kimmel indefinitely on Wednesday after comments he made about Kirk, who was killed Sept. 10, in a monologue. Kimmel said “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk” and that “the MAGA gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”

READ MORE: How Donald Trump turned the White House into a tacky gold palace full of trinkets in 100 days

14. The White House sticks by Tom Homan

The White House stood behind border czar Tom Homan on Monday following reports that he had accepted $50,000 from undercover agents posing as businesspeople during an undercover FBI operation last year, leading to a bribery investigation that was shut down by the Trump administration Justice Department.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized Homan's encounter with the undercover agents as an effort by the Biden administration to “entrap one of the president’s top allies and supporters, someone who they knew very well would be taking a government position.”

“The White House and the president stand by Tom Homan 100% because he did absolutely nothing wrong, and he is a brave public servant who has done a phenomenal job in helping the president shut down the border,” she said.

MSNBC first reported Saturday that Homan had accepted the cash during a 2024 encounter with undercover agents who were posing as businesspeople seeking government contracts that Homan suggested he could help them get in a second Trump term. Two people familiar with the investigation, who were not authorized to discuss a sensitive law enforcement inquiry by name, confirmed the existence of the investigation to The Associated Press on Monday as well as details from it.

The Trump administration Justice Department, which shut down the probe, said the matter was “subjected to a full review,” but authorities found “no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing.” Without providing evidence, the White House criticized the Biden administration investigation as politically motivated.

“The Department’s resources must remain focused on real threats to the American people, not baseless investigations,” FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “As a result, the investigation has been closed.”