Chasten Buttigieg | mybabe22 | Empathy

The 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 led to ugly incidents of bullying on the internet.

Gus

Walz, who suffers from a nonverbal learning disability, as well as anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), looked on eagerly from the front row of Chicago’s United Center and cried openly on Wednesday night as his father, the Democratic candidate for vice president, delivered his acceptance speech at Viral Video the Democratic National Convention.

The governor of Minnesota, was recounting the challenging fertility journey he and his wife, Gwen, went through to have their daughter, Hope.

Walz followed up by declaring his love for his loved ones from the stage, saying, "Hope, Gus, and Gwen, you are my entire world. And Tim Walz I love you."

Gus Walz rose from his seat, with teardrops streaming 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 spread online and has largely been received adoringly on the Hope Walz internet and in the media.

Fox News shared a video of the touching moment on its TikTok page, stating "Gus Walz steals the spotlight 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 Public Display Of Affection 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 caring father throughout his life, ” he Democratic National Convention stated. “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, 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 Fox News 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 young Gus Walz, adorable son of Gwen and Tim Walz, his face covered in Cyberbullying tears of pride, exclaimed 'That’s my dad!' he won my heart. ”

Critics ridicule Gus Walz as a 'puffy beta male'
But the display of affection provoked a series of snarky and cruel comments from online trolls, primarily supporters of MAGA, of former president Donald Trump, who is running Vice Presidential Nominee against Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Walz in November.

Right-wing columnist and provocateur Ann Coulter ridiculed the teenager’s tears. “Now that's weird, ” she wrote on X. The message has since been deleted.

Mike Crispi, a Trump backer and podcaster from New Jersey, mocked Walz’s “crybaby son” on X Anxiety and wrote, “You raised your kid to be a puffy beta male. Congrats.”

Alec Lace, a Trump supporter who hosts 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 state Free Menstrual Products 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 Milwaukee radio host, posted a message on X criticizing the Walz family, now removed.

"If the Walzs represent today's American man,