12:30 Report is The Hill’s midday newsletter. Click here to subscribe.
In today’s issue:
- Trump to UN: ‘Your countries are going to hell’
- POTUS-Dem shutdown meeting canceled
- Secret Service thwarts potential cellular blackout
- Medical experts skewer Trump’s Tylenol-autism claims
- Sinclair, Nexstar won’t air Jimmy Kimmel’s return
🌎 IN NYC
This has been a tense one to watch:
President Trump bashed the United Nations while speaking in front of the group today.
“It’s time to end the open experiment of open borders,” Trump told the room of world leaders, touting his own immigration policies. “I’m really good at doing this stuff. Your countries are going to hell.”
That wasn’t his only public critique.
“I ended seven wars, helped with the leaders of each and every one of these countries and never even received a phone call from the United Nations offering to help in finalizing the deal,” Trump said in his remarks.
“All I got from the United Nations is … a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter,” Trump said. 📹 Watch the clip
📹 The escalator had abruptly stopped while he and first lady Melania Trump walked onto it, while the president started his speech by saying his teleprompter didn’t work.
Other top moments:
• On climate change: Trump also claimed climate change was “the greatest con job ever perpetuated on the world,” bashing efforts to reduce carbon emissions and move toward clean energy. “All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong,” Trump said.
• On his own poll numbers: “I was very proud to see this morning I have the highest poll numbers I’ve ever had. Part of it is what we’ve done on the border. I guess the other part is what we’ve done on the economy,” he said, bashing former President Biden by name.
➤ SCARY TIDBIT — THERE COULD HAVE BEEN A DANGEROUS CELLULAR BLACKOUT:
The New York Times reports that the Secret Service discovered sophisticated equipment near the United Nations that was capable of crippling cellular networks.
More than 100,000 SIM cards and 300 servers, to be exact. “One official said the network was capable of sending 30 million text messages per minute, anonymously. The official said the agency had never before seen such an extensive operation.”
⏱️ IN CONGRESS
The shutdown drama intensifies:
President Trump says he has called off his Thursday meeting with Democratic congressional leaders, which was planned to discuss the ongoing government funding fight.
Yes, but: He did leave room for the meeting to still happen. “I’ll be happy to meet with them if they agree to the Principles in this Letter,” Trump said. 🔎 Read Trump’s post
He fired off a lengthy Truth Social post this morning bashing Democrats’ “unserious and ridiculous demands.”
The Democratic leaders responded:
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) needled Trump by reviving the infamous “TACO” acronym shortly after. “Trump Always Chickens Out,” Jeffries posted on X, arguing “the extremists want to shut down the government because they are unwilling to address the Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating America.”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) posted, “Happy New Year, Mr. President. When you’re finished ranting, we can sit down and discuss health care.”
➤ WHERE THE SHUTDOWN NEGOTIATIONS STAND:
The House and Senate left town until next week with no plan to keep the government open. Negotiations had hinged on Trump’s Thursday meeting with Schumer and Jeffries.
Read Alexander Bolton’s reporting in The Hill: ‘Trump’s bitterness with Schumer increases odds of shutdown’
💊 IN THE WHITE HOUSE
‘Extra strength’ backlash:
President Trump unleashed a grenade in the medical world on Monday when he advised pregnant people not to take Tylenol during pregnancy, promoting an unproven link between the common drug and childhood autism without offering any new medical evidence.
The pushback has been fierce:
The maker of brand-name Tylenol pushed back: Tylenol manufacturer Kenvue issued a statement strongly disputing Trump’s claims. “We believe independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism. We strongly disagree with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned with the health risk this poses for expecting mothers,” the company said.
The president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released a statement: “In more than two decades of research on the use of acetaminophen in pregnancy, not a single reputable study has successfully concluded that the use of acetaminophen in any trimester of pregnancy causes neurodevelopmental disorders in children,” Steven J. Fleischman, MD, MBA, FACOG said. 🔎 Read the full statement
From The Autism Science Foundation: “Any association between acetaminophen and autism is based on limited, conflicting, and inconsistent science and is premature given the current science.” 🔎Read the full reasoning
From Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.), who is a licensed doctor: “The preponderance of evidence shows that this is not the case,” Cassidy, the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, wrote on X. “The concern is that women will be left with no options to manage pain in pregnancy. We must be compassionate to this problem.”
💡 Why this matters: Trump said there’s “no downside” for pregnant women not taking Tylenol. However, there is no safe alternative — and doctors warn that an untreated fever could harm the baby in pregnancy.
“If there is a link between acetaminophen and autism, it’s still unclear whether the risk comes from the drug itself or from the underlying conditions — such as fever, pain or inflammation — that lead people to use it. Doctors also worry that if a fever isn’t treated it could create stress on the fetus.” (The Washington Post)
➤ THE PRESS CONFERENCE WAS LIKE NO OTHER:
The president made unsubstantiated medical claims, including a debunked myth that links autism to the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Trump did not appear to know how to pronounce the medical name for the drug centered in the announcement. “Ah-say-da, well let’s see how we say that. Ah-said-ayh-menafin,” Trump stumbled while advisers whispered the pronunciation. “Acetaminophen,” Trump finally said. “Is that OK?” 📹 Watch
“So, taking Tylenol is, uhh, not good. I’ll say it. It’s not good,” Trump claimed about taking Tylenol while pregnant.
^ Jon Stewart mocked Trump’s mispronunciation on Monday’s episode of “The Daily Show.” 📹 Watch the segment
Trump’s exception — if pregnant women ‘can’t tough it out’: “For instance, in cases of extremely high fever that you can’t tough it out, you can’t do it. I guess there’s that. It’s a small number of cases, I think.”
He president then pivoted to claims about childhood vaccines: “They pump so much stuff into those beautiful little babies. It’s a disgrace. … It looks like they’re pumping into a horse. You have a little child … and you got a vat of 80 different vaccines I guess, 80 different blends and they pump it in.” Instead, Trump said children should only be given one vaccine at a time. 📹 Watch Trump discuss vaccines
^ The New York Times fact-checked this statement. “Children generally receive roughly 30 vaccine doses before the age of 18, according to the C.D.C.’s schedule. And there is no evidence for the idea that vaccines overwhelm their immune system or lead to conditions like autism.”
Trump even mentioned a ‘rumor’ he heard about Cuba: “There’s a rumor and I don’t know if it’s so or not, but Cuba, they don’t have Tylenol because they don’t have the money for Tylenol. And they have virtually no autism. OK, tell me about that one.”
💻 Watch Trump’s full announcement
➤ THE FDA LATER PUBLISHED A PRESS RELEASE ON TYLENOL:
The tone of the letter was much more cautious than Trump’s announcement, describing the link between Tylenol and autism as a “possible association. It also mentioned that a “causal relationship has not been established and there are contrary studies in the scientific literature.”
📺 HAPPENING TONIGHT
Jimmy Kimmel is back:
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return to ABC tonight after being pulled off the air last week.
Yes, but it won’t air on all TVs: Sinclair, which operates nearly 40 ABC affiliates across the country, said it *won’t* air Kimmel’s show.
🗺️ Here’s a map of the 39 Sinclair affiliates that won’t air Kimmel tonight
And Nexstar, which operates 32 ABC affiliates (and owns The Hill), just announced that it also won’t air Kimmel.
➤ QUICK HIT:
— Former Vice President Kamala Harris’s book is out today. In an interview with MSNBC on Monday night, Harris said about Trump: “We’re dealing with a communist dictator.”
COMING UP
The House and Senate are out. President Trump is in New York City. (All times EST)
1 p.m. Trump participates in a bilateral meeting.
2:30 p.m. Trump participates in a multilateral meeting.
7:20 p.m. Trump speaks at the United Nations Leaders’ Reception.
9:55 p.m. Trump and first lady Melania Trump depart New York.
11:10 p.m. The Trumps return to the White House.
🐝 INTERNET BUZZ
🥧 Celebrate: Today is National Great American Pot Pie Day. Um, sure?
👋 AND FINALLY…
Just in case you’re having a bad day, I bet you it’s better after watching this
