Boston Mayor Michelle Wu blasted for saying Trump should prioritize gender-affirming care for youth

Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald on Jun 16, 2026

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BOSTON — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was slammed by a Catholic group for championing “child abuse” after she criticized President Donald Trump for prioritizing White House ballroom renovations over funding gender-affirming care for “young people.”

Wu compared the two issues at a City Hall pride flag raising ceremony two weeks ago, but her remarks spread like wildfire Sunday after a video of her speech was shared by Libs of TikTok, a right-wing social media influencer.

“Pride is the right to be exactly who you are, to be treated with dignity and respect, and pride is what we need as this federal administration tries to intimidate our residents and community partners,” Wu said on June 1. “They are trying to roll back the progress that generations of activists and leaders sacrificed for.

“They would rather remodel the White House ballroom than fund the gender-affirming health care that saves young people’s lives. They would rather terrorize law-abiding immigrants than let kids read books about love, and they would rather start a war than honor the trans service members who actually protect our country,” Wu added.

Libs of TikTok shared a video of Wu’s remarks with the caption, “Boston Mayor Michelle Wu complains that Trump is doing renovations in DC over funding s*x change surgeries and p**n books for kids.”

It’s unclear exactly what Wu was saying in her remarks. Her reference to “books about love” may be referring to nationwide efforts by schools and libraries to ban LGBTQ books.

Wu’s office did not respond to a request for comment about what age group she was referring to when speaking about access to gender-affirming care for “young people,” nor explain what care she was explicitly advocating for.

More than 20 states have banned gender-affirming care for minors, but the practice remains legal in Massachusetts. Parental consent is typically required for such care, including gender-reassignment surgery and hormone replacement therapy, for youth under 18 years old.

An advisory posted on the state website explains that children can bypass the parental consent requirement “if your doctor believes you are mature enough to give informed consent to the treatment, and it is in your best interest not to notify your parents.”

Gender-affirming care also includes mental and behavioral health interventions.

But the Catholic Action League said the mayor’s reference to gender-affirming care is obvious.

“When Mayor Wu refers to so-called gender affirming care, she is resorting to a deceptive euphemism to disguise the surgical and chemical mutilation of minors, which is child abuse,” Catholic Action League Executive Director C.J. Doyle said Monday in a statement to the Herald.

“We are constantly told by those in the criminal justice system that youthful offenders may not be fully responsible for their actions because their brain development does not mature until they are in their 20s. If that is so, why are irreversible surgical procedures being performed on children, some of whom have not even reached puberty?

“As for Mayor Wu, is there a single social issue where she is not a complete captive of the radical left?” Doyle added.

Wu was also blasted online for saying taxpayer money should be used to pay for gender-affirming care.

“Changing your sex is a personal decision,” one X user wrote, quipping, “Doing that is like paying for my liposuction. I want to identify as a slimmer person.”

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