The emotional moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has triggered a flood of praise and approval, but it has also led to nasty incidents of bullying online.
The emotional moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has triggered a flood of praise and approval, but it has also led to nasty incidents of bullying online.
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The emotional exchange between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has sparked a wave of admiration and approval, but it has at the same time provoked ugly incidents of bullying online.
Gus Walz, who has a nonverbal learning disorder, as well as anxiety and ADHD, watched excitedly from the front seat 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 Minnesota governor was recounting the difficult fertility treatment he and his wife, Gwen, underwent 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 teardrops running down his cheeks, pointed his finger and said, “I love you, Dad.”
The touching exchange between father and son, captured on live TV by TV cameras, quickly went viral and has largely been received adoringly on the web and across media outlets.
Fox News shared a clip of the viral moment on its TikTok account, stating "Gus Walz steals the spotlight during dad's acceptance speech." The comments were mostly positive.
“I hope to inspire my children so much that when they see me speak about the dreams and passion I have for my country, they are moved to tears like Gus Walz did,” posted Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Transportation Secretary on X.
“@Tim_Walz has dedicated his life to service and has clearly succeeded 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 addressed the audience before Walz on Wednesday night, praised the bond 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 posted on X. “'That's my dad.' No three words better capture our next Vice President. ”
Actress Mia Farrow added: “Gosh! When sweet Gus Walz, adorable son of Gwen and Tim Walz, his face covered in tears of pride, shouted 'That’s my dad!' he stole my heart. ”
Critics ridicule Gus Walz as a 'puffy beta male'
But the show 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 faces Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Walz in November.
Conservative columnist and provocative commentator Ann Coulter ridiculed the teenager’s tears. “Now that's weird, ” she wrote on X. The post has since been deleted.
Mike Crispi, a Trump supporter and content creator from New Jersey, criticized Walz’s “stupid crying son” on X and wrote, “You raised your son to be a puffy beta male. Congrats.”
Alec Lace, a Trump follower who hosts a podcast about fatherhood, took his own swipe at the teenager: “Get 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 reported that Jay Weber, a conservative radio host in Milwaukee, made a post on X criticizing the Walz family. now deleted.
"If the Walz(sic) represent today's American man,
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