The emotional exchange between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has triggered a wave of admiration and approval, but it has also provoked ugly incidents of bullying on the internet.
The emotional exchange between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has triggered a wave of admiration and approval, but it has also provoked ugly incidents of bullying on the internet.
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The emotional moment between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has triggered a wave of praise and support, but it has at the same time provoked nasty incidents of bullying online.
Gus Walz, who has a nonverbal learning disorder, as well as anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), watched excitedly from the front row of Chicago’s United Center and sobbed openly on Wednesday night as his father, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, delivered his speech of acceptance at the Democratic National Convention.
The Minnesota governor was sharing the challenging fertility journey he and his wife, Gwen, underwent 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 running down his cheeks, pointed his finger and exclaimed, “I love you, Dad.”
The heartwarming moment between father and son, captured on live TV by TV cameras, quickly went viral and has largely been received positively on the internet and across media outlets.
Fox News posted a video of the touching moment on its TikTok account, writing "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 cry with emotion like Gus Walz did,” posted Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Transportation Secretary on X.
“@Tim_Walz has dedicated his life to service and has clearly excelled in being an excellent, supportive, and loving 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 addressed the audience before Walz on Wednesday night, praised 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 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 words better describe our next Vice President. ”
Actress Mia Farrow also commented: “Gosh! When sweet Gus Walz, cherished 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 display of affection triggered a wave of snarky and nasty comments from online trolls, primarily MAGA supporters of former President Donald Trump, who is running against Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Walz in November.
Conservative columnist and provocative commentator Ann Coulter ridiculed the teenager’s tears. “Talk about weird, ” she wrote on X. The post has since been deleted.
Mike Crispi, a Trump supporter and podcaster from New Jersey, criticized Walz’s “stupid crying son” on X and added, “Congratulations on raising your son to be a puffy beta male. Congrats.”
Alec Lace, a Trump follower who runs a show about fatherhood, took his own shot at the teenager: “Give that kid a tampon already,” he said, in an apparent reference to a Minnesota law that Walz passed as governor requiring educational institutions to offer free menstrual products to students.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned that Jay Weber, a conservative radio host in Milwaukee, posted a message on X criticizing the Walz family, now removed.
"If the Walzs represent today's American man,
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