An heartfelt moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has triggered a flood of praise and approval, but it has also provoked nasty incidents of bullying on the internet.
An emotional moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has sparked a wave of praise and approval, but it has also provoked nasty incidents of bullying on the internet.
Gus Walz, who suffers from a nonverbal learning disorder, along with anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), looked on eagerly from the front row of Chicago’s United Center and cried openly on Wednesday night as his father, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, delivered his speech of acceptance at the Democratic National Convention.
The Minnesota governor was sharing the difficult fertility treatment he and his wife, Gwen, went through to conceive their daughter, Hope.
Walz continued by expressing his love for his loved ones from the stage, saying, "Hope, Gus, and Gwen, you are my entire world. And I love you."
Gus Walz rose from his seat, with tears running down his cheeks, pointed his finger and exclaimed, “I love you, Dad.”
The heartwarming moment between father and son, captured on live TV by television cameras, quickly spread online and has largely been received positively on the internet and across media outlets.
Fox News posted a clip of the touching moment on its TikTok page, stating "Gus Walz steals the show during dad's acceptance speech." The comments were overwhelmingly positive.
“I hope to inspire my children so much that when they see me speak about the dreams and passion I hold for my country, they cry with emotion like Gus Walz did,” wrote Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, on X.
“@Tim_Walz has dedicated his life to service and has clearly succeeded in being an excellent, supportive, and caring father every step of the way, ” he wrote. “We should all be so fortunate to know a love like that.”
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who spoke before Walz on Wednesday night, commended the bond between Walz and his children.
More: Who is Gus Walz and what is a non-verbal learning disorder?
“You know you’ve succeeded as a parent when your kids are as proud of you as Gus and Hope are of Tim Walz,” she wrote on X. “'That's my dad.' No three words better describe our future vice president. ”
Actress Mia Farrow added: “Gosh! When young Gus Walz, adorable son of Gwen and Tim Walz, his face covered in tears of pride, shouted 'That’s my dad!' he won my heart. ”
Critics ridicule Gus Walz as a 'puffy beta male'
But the display of affection provoked a wave of snarky and cruel comments from online trolls, many of them MAGA supporters of former President Donald Trump, who is running against Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Walz in November.
Conservative columnist and provocateur Ann Coulter ridiculed the teenager’s tears. “Now that's weird, ” she posted on X. The post has since been deleted.
Mike Crispi, a Trump backer and podcaster from New Jersey, mocked Walz’s “stupid crying son” on X and added, “You raised your son to be a blubbering beta male. Congrats.”
Alec Lace, a Trump follower who runs a show about fatherhood, took his own shot at the teenager: “Give that kid a tampon already,” he said, in an apparent jab to a Minnesota state law that Walz signed as governor requiring schools to provide free menstrual products to students.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Jay Weber, a conservative Milwaukee radio host, made a post on X criticizing the Walz family. now deleted.
"If the Walzs represent today's American man,
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