'You Should Be Ashamed': Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Mocked for Falsely Claiming People With Autism Will Never Pay Taxes, Hold a Job or Go on a Date

Donald Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has faced some severe backlash for making false claims about people with autism during his first press conference since being appointed to his role in the White House.

Responding to a new study by the CDC that found 3 percent of children in the U.S. have autism, RFK Jr. said the rise in diagnoses constitutes an “epidemic,” and he vowed to identify the "environmental causes" responsible for the spike in disorder diagnoses.

Kennedy, who has previously promoted a scientifically debunked claim that vaccines cause autism, denied that the uptick in diagnoses can be explained by experts learning more about the disorder.

"One of the things that I think that we need to move away from today is this ideology that…the autism prevalence increase, the relentless increases, are simply artifacts of better diagnoses, better recognition or changing diagnostic criteria," he said. "This epidemic denial has become a feature in mainstream media."

Kennedy is also facing backlash for the previously debunked claims he made about individuals with autism.

"Autism destroys families, and more importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, which is our children. These are children who should not be suffering like this," he stated. “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. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted."

As part of the press conference, Kennedy also announced that HHS is preparing to launch new studies to "identify precisely what the environmental toxins are that are causing [autism]."

Several celebrity parents, such as Rosie O’Donnell, shared their disgust over RFK Jr.'s recent comments about people on the spectrum.

“Robert Kennedy, you should be ashamed of urself,” the former The View host wrote on Instagram, sharing a photo with her 12-year-old child, Clay, who was diagnosed with autism.

Actress Holly Robinson Peete took to X, formerly known as Twitter, in support of her 27-year-old son, RJ, who was diagnosed with autism at age 3.

She wrote: "My 27-year-old son with autism didn’t ‘destroy our family’ — he gave us purpose and unity… oh, and he pays taxes."

On April 15, following the CDC report, Kennedy told President Trump that the HHS hopes to have "answers" by September. However, many experts say that’s not enough time.

Medical and scientific communities have prioritized autism research for the last several decades.

"We may have hundreds, if not thousands, of different neurogenetic factors that in combination with complicated environmental interactions influence presentations of autism," Zachary Warren, a pediatric psychiatrist and autism researcher at Vanderbilt University, explained in an interview.

"As a clinician, I wish I had better — and, quite frankly, simpler — answers for my families," he told NPR. "But autism isn't a single thing; it is a word we use in an attempt to capture a spectrum of behavioral strengths, differences, and vulnerabilities in order to help optimally support children."