The emotional exchange between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has triggered a wave of admiration and support, but it has also provoked ugly bullying attacks on the internet.
The emotional exchange between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has triggered a wave of admiration and support, but it has also provoked ugly bullying attacks on the internet.
Blog Article
An heartfelt moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has sparked a flood of admiration and support, but it has also led to ugly incidents of bullying online.
Gus Walz, who has a nonverbal learning disorder, 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 candidate for vice president, delivered his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
The Minnesota governor was recounting the challenging fertility journey he and his wife, Gwen, went through to have their daughter, Hope.
Walz continued by expressing 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 finger and said, “I love you, Dad.”
The heartwarming exchange between father and son, captured on live TV by TV cameras, quickly went viral and was mostly received adoringly on the web and across media outlets.
Fox News shared a video of the touching moment on its TikTok page, writing "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 Transportation Secretary on X.
“@Tim_Walz has devoted his life to service and has clearly excelled 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, 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 describe our next Vice President. ”
Actress Mia Farrow also commented: “Gosh! When young Gus Walz, adorable son of Gwen and Tim Walz, his face covered in tears of pride, shouted 'That’s my dad!' he won my heart. ”
Critics ridicule Gus Walz as a 'puffy beta male'
But the show of affection triggered a series of sarcastic and nasty comments from internet trolls, primarily MAGA supporters of former president Donald Trump, who is running against Democratic presidential nominee 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 backer and podcaster from New Jersey, mocked Walz’s “crybaby son” on X and wrote, “Congratulations on raising your kid to be a puffy beta male. Congrats.”
Alec Lace, a Trump follower who runs 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 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, made a post on X criticizing the Walz family. now deleted.
"If the Walzs represent today's American man,
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