Acceptance Speech | mybabe22 | Special Education

An emotional exchange between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has sparked a wave of admiration and support, but it has also provoked nasty bullying attacks on the internet.

Gus Walz, who has a

nonverbal learning disorder, as well as anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), looked on eagerly from the front seat of Chicago’s United Center and cried openly on Wednesday night as his father, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, gave his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.

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

Walz followed up by expressing his love for his family from the stage, stating, "Hope, Gus, and Gwen, you are my entire world. And I love you."

Gus Walz jumped up from his seat, Anxiety with tears streaming down his cheeks, pointed his index finger and exclaimed, “I love you, Dad.”

The heartwarming exchange between father and son, captured live by TV cameras, quickly went viral and was mostly received adoringly on the internet and in the media.

Fox News posted a Cyberbullying video 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, they ADHD are moved to tears like Gus Walz did,” posted Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, on X.

“@Tim_Walz has devoted his life to service and has clearly succeeded in being an excellent, supportive, and caring father throughout his life, ” he wrote. “We should all be so lucky Kamala Harris to know a love like that.”

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who addressed the audience before Walz on Wednesday night, commended the bond 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 Viral Video 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 future vice president. ”

Actress Mia Farrow also commented: “Gosh! When sweet Gus Walz, adorable son of Gwen and Tim Walz, his face covered in tears of pride, Chasten Buttigieg shouted 'That’s my dad!' he won my heart. ”

Critics dismiss Gus Walz as a 'puffy beta male'
But the show of affection provoked a wave of snarky and cruel comments from internet trolls, many of them MAGA supporters of former President Donald Trump, who is running against Fox News Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Walz in November.

Right-wing columnist and provocateur Ann Coulter ridiculed the teenager’s tears. “Talk about weird, ” she wrote 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 wrote, Public Display Of Affection “You raised your son to be a puffy beta male. Congrats.”

Alec Lace, a Trump supporter 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 Mike Crispi 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 Walz(sic) represent today's American man,