An heartfelt exchange between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has sparked a wave of admiration and support, but it has also provoked ugly incidents of bullying on the internet.
The heartfelt exchange between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has sparked a wave of admiration and support, but it has also provoked nasty incidents of bullying online.
Gus Walz, who suffers from a nonverbal learning disability, as well as anxiety and ADHD, looked on eagerly from the front seat of Chicago’s United Center and cried 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 sharing the challenging fertility journey he and his wife, Gwen, went through to conceive their daughter, Hope.
Walz followed up by declaring his love for his loved ones from the stage, saying, "Hope, Gus, and Gwen, you mean everything to me. And I love you."
Gus Walz rose from his seat, with teardrops running down his cheeks, pointed his finger and exclaimed, “I love you, Dad.”
The touching exchange between father and son, captured live by television cameras, quickly spread online and has largely been received positively on the web and in the media.
Fox News posted a clip of the touching 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 have 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 excelled in being an outstanding, supportive, and loving 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 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 other words better describe our future vice president. ”
Actress Mia Farrow also commented: “Gosh! When young Gus Walz, cherished son of Gwen and Tim Walz, his face streaming with 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 triggered a series of snarky and cruel 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.
Right-wing columnist and provocative commentator Ann Coulter mocked the teenager’s tears. “Talk about weird, ” she posted on X. The post has since been deleted.
Mike Crispi, a Trump supporter and podcaster from New Jersey, mocked Walz’s “crybaby son” on X and wrote, “You raised your kid to be a blubbering beta male. Congrats.”
Alec Lace, a Trump supporter who hosts a podcast about fatherhood, took his own shot at the teenager: “Get that kid a tampon already,” he wrote, in an apparent jab to a Minnesota law that Walz signed as governor requiring schools to provide complimentary menstrual products to students.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned that Jay Weber, a conservative Milwaukee radio host, made a post on X criticizing the Walz family, now removed.
"If the Walz(sic) represent today's American man,
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