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.
Blog Article
An heartfelt exchange between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has sparked a flood of admiration and support, but it has at the same time 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), 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 acceptance speech 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 followed up by declaring 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 rose from his seat, with tears running down his cheeks, pointed his index finger and said, “I love you, Dad.”
The heartwarming moment between father and son, captured on live TV by television cameras, quickly went viral and was mostly received adoringly on the internet and in the media.
Fox News posted a video 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 kids 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,” wrote 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 loving father every step of the way, ” 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 succeeded 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 words better describe 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, primarily MAGA supporters of former President Donald Trump, who is running against 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, mocked Walz’s “stupid crying son” on X and wrote, “Congratulations on raising your kid to be a blubbering beta male. Congrats.”
Alec Lace, a Trump supporter who runs a podcast about fatherhood, took his own swipe at the teenager: “Get that kid a tampon already,” he wrote, in an apparent jab to a Minnesota law that Walz passed as governor requiring educational institutions to provide 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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