The heartfelt moment between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has sparked a wave of praise and approval, but it has at the same time led to nasty bullying attacks online.
An heartfelt exchange between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has triggered a flood of admiration and support, but it has also led to nasty bullying attacks on the internet.
Gus Walz, who has a nonverbal learning disability, along with anxiety and ADHD, looked on eagerly from the front row of Chicago’s United Center and cried openly on Wednesday night as his father, the Democratic candidate for vice president, gave his speech of acceptance at the Democratic National Convention.
The governor of Minnesota, was sharing the challenging fertility journey he and his wife, Gwen, went through to conceive their daughter, Hope.
Walz followed up by expressing his love for his family from the stage, stating, "Hope, Gus, and Gwen, you mean everything to me. And I love you."
Gus Walz rose from his seat, with teardrops streaming down his cheeks, pointed his finger and exclaimed, “I love you, Dad.”
The heartwarming exchange between father and son, captured on live TV by television cameras, quickly went viral and was mostly received positively on the internet and in the media.
Fox News posted a clip of the viral moment on its TikTok account, stating "Gus Walz steals the show 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 lucky to know a love like that.”
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who addressed the audience before Walz on Wednesday night, praised the bond 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 posted on X. “'That's my dad.' No three other words better capture our next 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, 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.
Right-wing columnist and provocateur Ann Coulter ridiculed the teenager’s tears. “Talk about 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 “crybaby 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 swipe at the teenager: “Give that kid a tampon already,” he wrote, in an apparent jab to a Minnesota law that Walz signed as governor requiring schools to offer 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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