An heartfelt moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has triggered a wave of admiration and approval, but it has also provoked ugly incidents of bullying on the internet.
An heartfelt moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has triggered a wave of admiration and approval, but it has also provoked ugly incidents of bullying on the internet.
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An heartfelt exchange between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has sparked a wave of praise and approval, but it has at the same time provoked nasty bullying attacks on the internet.
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 row 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 Minnesota governor was sharing the challenging fertility journey 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 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 spread online and was mostly received adoringly on the internet and across media outlets.
Fox News shared a clip of the touching moment on its TikTok account, 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,” 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 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 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 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 next Vice President. ”
Actress Mia Farrow also commented: “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 provoked a wave of sarcastic and nasty comments from online 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.
Conservative 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 backer and content creator from New Jersey, mocked Walz’s “stupid crying son” on X and wrote, “You raised your kid 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 said, in an apparent jab to a Minnesota state law that Walz passed as governor requiring educational institutions to provide complimentary menstrual products to students.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned that Jay Weber, a conservative Milwaukee radio host, posted a message on X criticizing the Walz family. now deleted.
"If the Walz(sic) represent today's American man,
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