The heartfelt moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has sparked a flood of praise and approval, but it has also provoked nasty incidents of bullying online.
The heartfelt moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has sparked a flood of praise and approval, but it has also provoked nasty incidents of bullying online.
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An emotional moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has sparked a wave of praise and support, but it has also led to nasty bullying attacks on the internet.
Gus Walz, who suffers from a nonverbal learning disability, along with anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), watched excitedly from the front seat of Chicago’s United Center and cried openly on Wednesday night as his father, the Democratic candidate for vice president, gave his speech of acceptance at the Democratic National Convention.
The governor of Minnesota, was recounting the difficult fertility treatment he and his wife, Gwen, went through to have their daughter, Hope.
Walz continued by expressing his love for his family from the stage, saying, "Hope, Gus, and Gwen, you are my entire world. And I love you."
Gus Walz rose from his seat, with teardrops streaming down his cheeks, pointed his finger and exclaimed, “I love you, Dad.”
The heartwarming exchange between father and son, captured live by television cameras, quickly spread online and has largely been received adoringly on the web and across media outlets.
Fox News shared a clip of the touching moment on its TikTok page, writing "Gus Walz steals the spotlight during dad's acceptance speech." The comments were mostly positive.
“I hope to inspire my kids so much that when they see me speak about the dreams and passion I hold for my country, they are moved to tears like Gus Walz did,” wrote Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, on X.
“@Tim_Walz has devoted his life to service and has clearly excelled in being an outstanding, supportive, and caring father throughout his life, ” he wrote. “We should all be so fortunate to know a love like that.”
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who addressed the audience before Walz on Wednesday night, praised the bond between Walz and his children.
More: Who is Gus Walz and what does having a non-verbal learning disorder mean?
“You know you’ve done well 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 other words better describe our future vice president. ”
Actress Mia Farrow added: “Gosh! When sweet Gus Walz, adorable son of Gwen and Tim Walz, his face covered in tears of pride, shouted 'That’s my dad!' he stole my heart. ”
Critics dismiss Gus Walz as a 'puffy beta male'
But the display of affection triggered a series of snarky and cruel comments from internet trolls, many of them supporters of MAGA, of former President Donald Trump, who is running against Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Walz in November.
Right-wing columnist and provocateur Ann Coulter ridiculed the teenager’s tears. “Now that's weird, ” she wrote on X. The post 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 puffy beta male. Congrats.”
Alec Lace, a Trump supporter who runs a podcast about fatherhood, took his own shot at the teenager: “Get that kid a tampon already,” he said, in an apparent reference to a Minnesota state law that Walz passed as governor requiring educational institutions to provide free menstrual products to students.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned that Jay Weber, a conservative radio host in Milwaukee, made a post on X criticizing the Walz family, now removed.
"If the Walzs represent today's American man,
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