JAKE TAPPER (HOST): Why don't you tell us about Michael.
INGRID HERRERA-YEE: Well, Michael is 10 years old. He is on the autism spectrum. He is a military child, and he loves the White House. He called it “The People's House,” he was excited to go visit. For those who don't have a child with autism, they need to really rehearse, and you know, a lot of their therapy involves practicing social interactions.
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TAPPER: What happened Friday night? When did you find out about this attack of your 10-year-old boy?
HERRERA-YEE: Well, I had actually gotten a call from my mother, who had seen a teaser, and she had told me that they were going to talk about Michael. Now, earlier in the morning on Fox & Friends they talked about Michael in a really positive way, so I was excited.
So, I sat down with my coffee and started watching, then suddenly it just went south. I was devastated when I saw what they were saying, people who -- they didn't even know his age. They didn't know who he was, but really taking out of context a really innocent, you know, interchange between the vice president and my son.
TAPPER: And you have -- you have other children, and your 15-year-old Will -- this hit him pretty hard.
HERRERA-YEE: It did. I've tried to shield my children from this, as any, you know, parent would. I would not want them to -- to be reading some of the comments that are out there about my son and my family and myself.
And he, unfortunately, being a teenager, and he's online, he saw this. So, not understanding, he went online and answered some of the negativity, trying to defend his brother, but he was viciously attacked online and I came home to find him crying about this. So, it's definitely affecting our family.
TAPPER: How can we fix this? What do you want? What do you want to be done for this wrong to be righted?
HERRERA-YEE: Well, first I want, you know, people to be more aware of autism and how our kid interact in the world. And, second, I would really -- just like Michael asked the Vice President so sweetly for an apology,
I'd want to ask on his behalf for Fox News to apologize for having used my son out of context, and using those really, you know, horrible words to describe him and our family. That's really what I would want to come out of this is just more awareness.
And please don't use kids, whether, you know, they are typically developing kids, it doesn't matter that he's autistic or he's a military kid. Forget all that. He's a kid. And you don't use children as examples on national television like that. I would hope that this is the very last time that this happens.
