An heartfelt moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has sparked a flood of praise and support, but it has at the same time led to ugly bullying attacks online.
An heartfelt moment between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has sparked a flood of praise and support, but it has at the same time led to ugly bullying attacks online.
Blog Article
An emotional exchange between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has triggered a wave of admiration and approval, but it has also provoked nasty incidents of bullying on the internet.
Gus Walz, who has a nonverbal learning disorder, along with anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), watched excitedly from the front row of Chicago’s United Center and cried 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 difficult fertility treatment he and his wife, Gwen, underwent to have their daughter, Hope.
Walz followed up by declaring his love for his family from the stage, saying, "Hope, Gus, and Gwen, you mean everything to me. And I love you."
Gus Walz jumped up from his seat, with teardrops streaming down his cheeks, pointed his index finger and said, “I love you, Dad.”
The touching exchange between father and son, captured on live TV by television cameras, quickly spread online and has largely been received adoringly on the web and across media outlets.
Fox News shared a clip of the touching moment on its TikTok page, writing "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 speak about the dreams and passion I hold for my country, they are moved to tears 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 caring 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 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 wrote on X. “'That's my dad.' No three other words better capture our next Vice President. ”
Actress Mia Farrow also commented: “Gosh! When sweet Gus Walz, cherished son of Gwen and Tim Walz, his face streaming with 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 wave of snarky and nasty comments from internet trolls, primarily supporters of MAGA, of former president Donald Trump, who is running against Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Walz in November.
Right-wing columnist and provocateur Ann Coulter ridiculed the teenager’s tears. “Now that's weird, ” she posted on X. The post has since been deleted.
Mike Crispi, a Trump supporter and podcaster from New Jersey, criticized Walz’s “crybaby son” on X and added, “Congratulations on raising your son to be a blubbering beta male. Congrats.”
Alec Lace, a Trump follower who runs a show about fatherhood, took his own shot at the teenager: “Get that kid a tampon already,” he wrote, 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 reported that Jay Weber, a conservative Milwaukee radio host, made a post on X criticizing the Walz family, now removed.
"If the Walz(sic) represent today's American man,
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 |
32 |
33 |
34 |
35 |
36 |
37 |
38 |
39 |
40 |
41 |
42 |
43 |
44 |
45 |
46 |
47 |
48 |
49 |
50 |
51 |
52 |
53 |
54 |
55 |
56 |
57 |
58 |
59 |
60 |
61 |
62 |
63 |
64 |
65 |
66 |
67 |
68 |
69 |
70 |
71 |
72 |
73 |
74 |
75 |
76 |
77 |
78 |
79 |
80 |
81 |
82 |
83 |
84 |
85 |
86 |
87 |
88 |
89 |
90 |
91 |
92 |
93 |
94 |
95 |
96 |
97 |
98 |
99 |
100 |
101 |
102 |
103 |
104 |
105 |
106 |
107 |
108 |
109 |
110 |
111 |
112 |
113 |
114 |
115 |
116 |
117 |
118 |
119 |
120 |
121 |
122 |
123 |
124 |
125 |
126 |
127 |
128 |
129 |
130 |
131 |
132 |
133 |
134 |
135 |
136 |
137 |
138 |
139 |
140 |
141 |
142 |
143 |
144 |
145 |
146 |
147 |
148 |
149 |
150 |
151 |
152 |
153 |
154 |
155 |
156 |
157 |
158 |
159 |
160 |
161 |
162 |
163 |
164 |
165 |
166 |
167 |
168 |
169 |
170 |
171 |
172 |
173 |
174 |
175 |
176 |
177 |
178 |
179 |
180 |
181 |
182 |
183 |
184 |
185 |
186 |
187 |
188 |
189 |
190 |
191 |
192 |
193 |
194 |
195 |
196 |
197 |
198 |
199 |
200 |
201 |
202 |
203 |
204 |
205 |
206 |
207 |
208 |
209 |
210 |
211 |
212 |
213 |
214 |
