Chasten Buttigieg | mybabe22 | Hope Walz

The emotional exchange between Tim Walz and his teenage son, Gus, has sparked a flood of admiration and support, but it has also led to ugly incidents of bullying online.

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

The governor of Minnesota, Fox News was sharing the difficult fertility treatment he and his wife, Gwen, underwent to conceive their daughter, Hope.

Walz continued by declaring his love for his loved ones from the stage, saying, "Hope, Gus, and Gwen, you mean everything to me. And I love you."

Gus Walz jumped up from his seat, ADHD with tears running down his cheeks, pointed his index finger and said, “I love you, Dad.”

The heartwarming exchange between father and son, captured live by television cameras, quickly spread online and has largely been received positively on the internet and in the media.

Fox News posted Social Dominance a clip of the touching moment on its TikTok page, writing "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 give a speech about the dreams and passion I have for my country, Mike Crispi they cry with emotion like Gus Walz did,” wrote Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Transportation Secretary on X.

“@Tim_Walz has devoted his life to service and has clearly succeeded in being an excellent, supportive, and caring father every step of the way, ” he stated. “We should all be so fortunate Vice Presidential Nominee to know a love like that.”

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who addressed the audience before Walz on Wednesday night, praised 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 Trolls On Social Media you as Gus and Hope are of Tim Walz,” she posted on X. “'That's my dad.' No three other words better capture our next Vice President. ”

Actress Mia Farrow added: “Gosh! When young Gus Walz, cherished son of Gwen and Tim Walz, his face streaming with tears of pride, shouted Tim Walz 'That’s my dad!' he stole my heart. ”

Critics dismiss Gus Walz as a 'puffy beta male'
But the show of affection provoked a wave of sarcastic and nasty comments from internet trolls, many of them supporters of MAGA, of former President Donald Trump, who is running against Democratic

presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Walz in November.

Right-wing columnist and provocative commentator 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 supporter and content creator from New Jersey, criticized Walz’s “crybaby son” on X and Viral Moment wrote, “Congratulations on raising your son to be a blubbering beta male. Congrats.”

Alec Lace, a Trump supporter who hosts a show about fatherhood, took his own shot at the teenager: “Give that kid a tampon already,” he said, in an apparent jab to a Minnesota law Kamala Harris that Walz passed as governor requiring schools to provide free menstrual products to students.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Jay Weber, a conservative radio host in Milwaukee, posted a message on X criticizing the Walz family. now deleted.

"If the Walz(sic) represent today's American man,