The emotional exchange between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has sparked a flood of admiration and support, but it has at the same time led to ugly bullying attacks online.
An emotional moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has sparked a wave of praise and support, but it has at the same time led to nasty bullying attacks on the internet.
Gus Walz, who has a nonverbal learning disability, as well as anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), looked on eagerly from the front row of Chicago’s United Center and sobbed openly on Wednesday night as his father, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, delivered his speech of acceptance at the Democratic National Convention.
The governor of Minnesota, was sharing the challenging fertility journey he and his wife, Gwen, underwent to conceive their daughter, Hope.
Walz followed up by expressing his love for his loved ones from the stage, stating, "Hope, Gus, and Gwen, you mean everything to me. And I love you."
Gus Walz jumped up from his seat, with tears running down his cheeks, pointed his index finger and said, “I love you, Dad.”
The touching exchange between father and son, captured on live TV by television cameras, quickly went viral and was mostly received positively on the internet and in the media.
Fox News posted a video of the viral 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 give a speech about the dreams and passion I have for my country, they cry with emotion like Gus Walz did,” posted 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 stated. “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 love 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 capture our next Vice President. ”
Actress Mia Farrow also commented: “Gosh! When young Gus Walz, cherished son of Gwen and Tim Walz, his face covered in tears of pride, exclaimed 'That’s my dad!' he won my heart. ”
Critics ridicule Gus Walz as a 'puffy beta male'
But the show of affection provoked a series of snarky and cruel comments from internet trolls, primarily MAGA supporters of former president Donald Trump, who faces Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Walz in November.
Conservative columnist and provocative commentator Ann Coulter ridiculed the teenager’s tears. “Talk about weird, ” she posted on X. The message has since been deleted.
Mike Crispi, a Trump supporter and content creator from New Jersey, mocked Walz’s “crybaby son” on X and wrote, “You raised your son to be a blubbering beta male. Congrats.”
Alec Lace, a Trump supporter who runs a show about fatherhood, took his own shot at the teenager: “Give that kid a tampon already,” he wrote, in an apparent jab to a Minnesota law that Walz signed as governor requiring educational institutions to offer free menstrual products to students.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Jay Weber, a conservative radio host in Milwaukee, posted a message on X criticizing the Walz family. now removed.
"If the Walz(sic) represent today's American man,
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