Minnesota’s first lady, Gwen Walz, slammed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert. F Kennedy Jr. over comments he made regarding children with autism on Wednesday.
“These are children who should not be, who should not be suffering like this,” Kennedy said at a press conference. “These are kids who, many of them were fully functional, and regressed because of some environmental exposure into autism when they’re 2 years old.”
“And these are kids who will never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never play baseball, they’ll never write a poem, they’ll never go out on a date,” Kennedy continued. “Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted. And we have to recognize we are doing this to our children.”
Gwen Walz responded to Kennedy’s comments in a post on X, saying his remarks are “deeply upsetting, especially coming from the nation’s highest ranking health official.”
“Individuals with autism are family, neighbors, students, and coworkers and they contribute more to this nation than this man ever will,” she added.
Gwen Walz and Gov. Tim Walz are parents of two children including Gus who has a nonverbal learning disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
