An emotional exchange between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has triggered a wave of admiration and support, but it has also provoked ugly incidents of bullying on the internet.
An emotional exchange between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has triggered a wave of admiration and support, but it has also provoked ugly incidents of bullying on the internet.
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An heartfelt moment between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has triggered a wave of praise and support, but it has also 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 candidate for vice president, delivered his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
The governor of Minnesota, was sharing the challenging fertility journey he and his wife, Gwen, went through to have their daughter, Hope.
Walz continued 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 running down his cheeks, pointed his index finger and exclaimed, “I love you, Dad.”
The heartwarming moment between father and son, captured live by television cameras, quickly went viral and was mostly received positively on the web and across media outlets.
Fox News shared a clip of the viral moment on its TikTok account, writing "Gus Walz steals the show during dad's acceptance speech." The comments were mostly positive.
“I hope to inspire my kids so much that when they see me give a speech about the dreams and passion I have for my country, they cry with emotion like Gus Walz did,” wrote 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 every step of the way, ” he stated. “We should all be so lucky 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 does having a non-verbal learning disorder mean?
“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 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 covered in 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 provoked a series of sarcastic and nasty comments from internet trolls, many of them MAGA supporters of former President Donald Trump, who faces Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Walz in November.
Conservative columnist and provocateur Ann Coulter ridiculed the teenager’s tears. “Now that's weird, ” she posted on X. The post has since been deleted.
Mike Crispi, a Trump backer and content creator from New Jersey, mocked Walz’s “stupid crying son” on X and added, “Congratulations on raising your son 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: “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 free 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 removed.
"If the Walz(sic) represent today's American man,
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