The emotional moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has triggered a wave of praise and approval, but it has also led to nasty incidents of bullying online.
The emotional moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has triggered a wave of praise and approval, but it has also led to nasty incidents of bullying online.
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The heartfelt exchange between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has triggered a flood of praise and support, but it has at the same time provoked ugly incidents of bullying on the internet.
Gus Walz, who suffers from a nonverbal learning disorder, as well as anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), watched excitedly from the front row of Chicago’s United Center and sobbed openly on Wednesday night as his father, the Democratic candidate for vice president, gave his speech of acceptance at the Democratic National Convention.
The Minnesota governor was sharing the difficult fertility treatment he and his wife, Gwen, underwent to conceive their daughter, Hope.
Walz followed up by declaring 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 streaming down his cheeks, pointed his finger and said, “I love you, Dad.”
The touching moment between father and son, captured live by television cameras, quickly spread online and was mostly received positively on the web and across media outlets.
Fox News posted a video of the touching 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 are moved to tears 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 stated. “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 love between Walz and his children.
More: Who is Gus Walz and what is a non-verbal learning disorder?
“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 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 streaming with tears of pride, exclaimed 'That’s my dad!' he stole my heart. ”
Critics ridicule Gus Walz as a 'puffy beta male'
But the display of affection triggered a wave of sarcastic and nasty comments from internet trolls, many of them supporters of MAGA, of former president Donald Trump, who faces Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Walz in November.
Right-wing columnist and provocative commentator Ann Coulter mocked the teenager’s tears. “Now that's 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 hosts a show about fatherhood, took his own shot at the teenager: “Give that kid a tampon already,” he said, in an apparent reference to a Minnesota state law that Walz passed as governor requiring schools to offer free 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 deleted.
"If the Walz(sic) represent today's American man,
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