Hope Walz | mybabe22 | Political Family Moments

The heartfelt exchange between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has triggered a wave of admiration and approval, but it has at the same time led to ugly bullying attacks online.

Gus Walz, who Gus Walz suffers from a nonverbal learning disability, as well as anxiety and 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, gave his speech of acceptance at the Democratic National Convention.

The Minnesota governor Self-advocacy was recounting the difficult fertility treatment he and his wife, Gwen, went through to have their daughter, Hope.

Walz followed up by declaring his love for his family from the stage, stating, "Hope, Gus, and Gwen, you mean everything to me. And I love you."

Gus Walz jumped up from his

seat, with teardrops running down his cheeks, pointed his index finger and said, “I love you, Dad.”

The touching exchange between father and son, captured live by TV cameras, quickly went viral and was mostly received positively on the web and across media outlets.

Fox News Vice Presidential Nominee posted a clip of the viral 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 and passion I hold for my Viral Video 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 throughout his life, ” he wrote. “We should all be so fortunate Minnesota Governor to know a love like that.”

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who addressed the audience before Walz on Wednesday night, commended the love between Walz and his children.

More: Who is Gus Walz and what is a non-verbal learning disorder?

“You know you’ve done well as a parent when your kids are as proud of you Tim Walz as Gus and Hope are of Tim Walz,” she posted on X. “'That’s my dad.' No three words better describe our future vice president. ”

Actress Mia Farrow added: “Gosh! When young Gus Walz, adorable son of Gwen and Tim Walz, his face covered in tears of pride, shouted Public Display Of Affection 'That’s my dad!' he stole my heart. ”

Critics ridicule Gus Walz as a 'puffy beta male'
But the show of affection provoked a wave of snarky and cruel comments from online trolls, many of them MAGA supporters of former president Donald Trump, who faces Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Social Media Criticism Harris and Walz in November.

Conservative columnist and provocative commentator Ann Coulter ridiculed the teenager’s tears. “Talk about weird, ” she posted on X. The message has since been deleted.

Mike Crispi, a Trump supporter and podcaster from New Jersey, mocked Walz’s “stupid crying son” on X and added, Children With Disabilities “You raised your son to be a puffy beta male. Congrats.”

Alec Lace, a Trump follower who runs a show about fatherhood, took his own swipe at the teenager: “Give that kid a tampon already,” he said, in an apparent jab to a Minnesota state law Parent-child Relationship 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, posted a message on X criticizing the Walz family. now removed.

"If the Walzs represent today's American man,