The emotional moment between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has sparked a wave of admiration and support, but it has also provoked ugly bullying attacks online.
The emotional moment between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has sparked a wave of admiration and support, but it has also provoked ugly bullying attacks online.
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The heartfelt moment between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has triggered a wave of praise and approval, but it has at the same time provoked ugly incidents of bullying online.
Gus Walz, who suffers from a nonverbal learning disability, as well as anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), looked on eagerly from the front seat of Chicago’s United Center and sobbed openly on Wednesday night as his father, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, delivered his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
The governor of Minnesota, was sharing the challenging fertility journey he and his wife, Gwen, went through to have their daughter, Hope.
Walz followed up 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 jumped up from his seat, with tears streaming down his cheeks, pointed his finger and said, “I love you, Dad.”
The touching moment between father and son, captured live by TV cameras, quickly spread online and has largely been received adoringly on the internet and in the media.
Fox News shared a clip of the viral moment on its TikTok account, stating "Gus Walz steals the spotlight during dad's acceptance speech." The comments were mostly positive.
“I hope to inspire my children so much that when they see me give a speech about the dreams and passion I hold for my country, they cry with emotion like Gus Walz did,” wrote Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Transportation Secretary on X.
“@Tim_Walz has dedicated his life to service and has clearly excelled in being an excellent, supportive, and caring father throughout his life, ” he wrote. “We should all be so lucky to know a love like that.”
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who spoke 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 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 future vice president. ”
Actress Mia Farrow also commented: “Gosh! When young Gus Walz, adorable son of Gwen and Tim Walz, his face covered in tears of pride, exclaimed 'That’s my dad!' he won my heart. ”
Critics dismiss Gus Walz as a 'puffy beta male'
But the display of affection provoked a wave of sarcastic and cruel comments from internet trolls, many of them supporters of MAGA, of former President Donald Trump, who faces Democratic presidential candidate 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 backer and podcaster from New Jersey, criticized Walz’s “stupid crying son” on X and added, “Congratulations on raising your kid to be a blubbering beta male. Congrats.”
Alec Lace, a Trump follower who hosts a show about fatherhood, took his own shot at the teenager: “Get that kid a tampon already,” he wrote, in an apparent reference to a Minnesota law that Walz signed as governor requiring educational institutions to provide complimentary menstrual products to students.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported 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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