An heartfelt exchange between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has sparked a wave of admiration and support, but it has also provoked ugly bullying attacks on the internet.
An heartfelt exchange between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has sparked a wave of admiration and support, but it has also provoked ugly bullying attacks on the internet.
Blog Article
The emotional exchange between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has sparked a wave of praise and support, but it has at the same time led to ugly incidents of bullying on the internet.
Gus Walz, who suffers from a nonverbal learning disorder, as well as anxiety and ADHD, watched excitedly from the front row of Chicago’s United Center and sobbed openly on Wednesday night as his father, the Democratic candidate for vice president, gave his speech of acceptance at the Democratic National Convention.
The governor of Minnesota, was sharing the challenging fertility journey he and his wife, Gwen, underwent to conceive 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 streaming down his cheeks, pointed his finger and said, “I love you, Dad.”
The touching moment between father and son, captured live by television cameras, quickly went viral and has largely been received adoringly on the internet and across media outlets.
Fox News posted a clip of the viral moment on its TikTok page, stating "Gus Walz steals the show during dad's acceptance speech." The comments were overwhelmingly positive.
“I hope to inspire my children so much that when they see me speak about the dreams and passion I hold for my country, they cry with emotion like Gus Walz did,” posted Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, on X.
“@Tim_Walz has dedicated his life to service and has clearly excelled in being an outstanding, supportive, and loving father throughout his life, ” he wrote. “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 next Vice President. ”
Actress Mia Farrow added: “Gosh! When sweet Gus Walz, cherished son of Gwen and Tim Walz, his face streaming with tears of pride, exclaimed 'That’s my dad!' he won my heart. ”
Critics dismiss Gus Walz as a 'puffy beta male'
But the display of affection provoked a series of snarky and nasty comments from internet trolls, primarily supporters of MAGA, of former president Donald Trump, who faces Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Walz in November.
Conservative columnist and provocateur Ann Coulter mocked the teenager’s tears. “Talk about weird, ” she posted on X. The message has since been deleted.
Mike Crispi, a Trump backer and podcaster from New Jersey, criticized Walz’s “crybaby son” on X and added, “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 shot at the teenager: “Get that kid a tampon already,” he wrote, in an apparent jab to a Minnesota state law that Walz passed as governor requiring schools to provide complimentary 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 removed.
"If the Walz(sic) represent today's American man,
1 | 1 |
2 | 2 |
3 | 3 |
4 | 4 |
5 | 5 |
6 | 6 |
7 | 7 |
8 | 8 |
9 | 9 |
10 | 10 |
11 | 11 |
12 | 12 |
13 | 13 |
14 | 14 |
15 | 15 |
16 | 16 |
17 | 17 |
18 | 18 |
19 | 19 |
20 | 20 |
21 | 21 |
22 | 22 |
23 | 23 |
24 | 24 |
25 | 25 |
26 | 26 |
27 | 27 |
28 | 28 |
29 | 29 |
30 | 30 |
31 | 31 |
32 | 32 |
33 | 33 |
34 | 34 |
35 | 35 |
36 | 36 |
37 | 37 |
38 | 38 |
39 | 39 |
40 | 40 |
41 | 41 |
42 | 42 |
43 | 43 |
44 | 44 |
45 | 45 |
46 | 46 |
47 | 47 |
48 | 48 |
49 | 49 |
50 | 50 |
51 | 51 |
52 | 52 |
53 | 53 |
54 | 54 |
55 | 55 |
56 | 56 |
57 | 57 |
58 | 58 |
59 | 59 |
60 | 60 |
61 | 61 |
62 | 62 |
63 | 63 |
64 | 64 |
65 | 65 |
66 | 66 |
67 | 67 |
68 | 68 |
69 | 69 |
70 | 70 |
71 | 71 |
72 | 72 |
73 | 73 |
74 | 74 |
75 | 75 |
76 | 76 |
77 | 77 |
78 | 78 |
79 | 79 |
80 | 80 |
81 | 81 |
82 | 82 |
83 | 83 |
84 | 84 |
85 | 85 |
86 | 86 |
87 | 87 |
88 | 88 |
89 | 89 |
90 | 90 |
91 | 91 |
92 | 92 |
93 | 93 |
94 | 94 |
95 | 95 |
96 | 96 |
97 | 97 |
98 | 98 |
99 | 99 |
100 | 100 |
101 | 101 |
102 | 102 |
103 | 103 |
104 | 104 |
105 | 105 |
106 | 106 |
107 | 107 |
108 | 108 |
109 | 109 |
110 | 110 |
111 | 111 |
112 | 112 |
113 | 113 |
114 | 114 |
115 | 115 |
116 | 116 |
117 | 117 |
118 | 118 |
119 | 119 |
120 | 120 |
121 | 121 |
122 | 122 |
123 | 123 |
124 | 124 |
125 | 125 |
126 | 126 |
127 | 127 |
128 | 128 |
129 | 129 |
130 | 130 |
131 | 131 |
132 | 132 |
133 | 133 |
134 | 134 |
135 | 135 |
136 | 136 |
137 | 137 |
138 | 138 |
139 | 139 |
140 | 140 |
141 | 141 |
142 | 142 |
143 | 143 |
144 | 144 |
145 | 145 |
146 | 146 |
147 | 147 |
148 | 148 |
149 | 149 |
150 | 150 |
151 | 151 |
152 | 152 |
153 | 153 |
154 | 154 |
155 | 155 |
156 | 156 |
157 | 157 |
158 | 158 |
159 | 159 |
160 | 160 |
161 | 161 |
162 | 162 |
163 | 163 |
164 | 164 |
165 | 165 |
166 | 166 |
167 | 167 |
168 | 168 |
169 | 169 |
170 | 170 |
171 | 171 |
172 | 172 |
173 | 173 |
174 | 174 |
175 | 175 |
176 | 176 |
177 | 177 |
178 | 178 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |