An heartfelt exchange between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has sparked a flood of admiration and support, but it has at the same time provoked ugly bullying attacks on the internet.
An heartfelt exchange between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has sparked a flood of admiration and support, but it has at the same time provoked ugly bullying attacks on the internet.
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An emotional moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has triggered a flood of admiration and approval, but it has also provoked nasty bullying attacks on the internet.
Gus Walz, who has a nonverbal learning disorder, along with 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, gave his speech of acceptance at the Democratic National Convention.
The Minnesota governor was recounting the difficult fertility treatment he and his wife, Gwen, underwent to have their daughter, Hope.
Walz followed up by declaring 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 heartwarming moment between father and son, captured on live TV by TV cameras, quickly spread online and was mostly received positively on the internet and across media outlets.
Fox News posted a clip of the viral moment on its TikTok account, stating "Gus Walz steals the spotlight 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 hold 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 devoted his life to service and has clearly excelled in being an excellent, supportive, and loving 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 spoke 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 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 describe our next Vice President. ”
Actress Mia Farrow added: “Gosh! When sweet Gus Walz, cherished 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 show of affection triggered a series of snarky and nasty comments from online trolls, many of them supporters of MAGA, of former President Donald Trump, who is running against Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Walz in November.
Conservative columnist and provocateur Ann Coulter ridiculed the teenager’s tears. “Talk about weird, ” she posted on X. The post has since been deleted.
Mike Crispi, a Trump backer and podcaster from New Jersey, criticized Walz’s “crybaby son” on X and wrote, “You raised your son to be a puffy beta male. Congrats.”
Alec Lace, a Trump follower who hosts a show about fatherhood, took his own swipe at the teenager: “Give that kid a tampon already,” he wrote, in an apparent reference to a Minnesota law that Walz signed as governor requiring educational institutions to offer 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 Walzs represent today's American man,
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