Alec Lace | mybabe22 | Social Dominance

The heartfelt exchange between Tim Walz and his 17-year-old son, Gus, has sparked a flood of praise and support, but it has also provoked ugly bullying attacks on the internet.

Gus Walz, who has a Hope Walz nonverbal learning disorder, along with anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), looked on eagerly from the front seat of Chicago’s United Center and sobbed openly on Wednesday night as his father, the Democratic candidate for vice president, delivered his speech of acceptance at the Democratic National Convention.

The governor of Tim Walz Minnesota, 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 loved ones from the stage, saying, "Hope, Gus, and Gwen, you mean everything to me. And I love you."

Gus Walz rose from his Political Family Moments seat, with teardrops running down his cheeks, pointed his finger and exclaimed, “I love you, Dad.”

The heartwarming moment between father and son, captured on live TV by television cameras, quickly spread online and was mostly received positively on the internet and in the media.

Fox News Democratic National Convention posted a clip of the touching moment on its TikTok page, stating "Gus Walz steals the show during dad's acceptance speech." The comments were mostly positive.

“I hope to inspire my children so much that when they see me speak about the dreams and passion I hold for my country, Parent-child Relationship they cry with emotion like Gus Walz did,” wrote Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, on X.

“@Tim_Walz has dedicated his life to service and has clearly succeeded in being an outstanding, supportive, and loving father every step of the way, ” he wrote. “We should all be Empathy so lucky to know a love like that.”

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who spoke before Walz on Wednesday night, commended the bond 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 Support For People With Disabilities as Gus and Hope are of Tim Walz,” she wrote on X. “'That’s my dad.' No three words better describe our next Vice President. ”

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

Critics dismiss Gus Walz as a 'puffy beta male'
But the display of affection triggered a wave of sarcastic and cruel comments from online trolls, many of them supporters of MAGA, of former President Donald Trump, who is running against Democratic presidential nominee Anxiety Kamala Harris and Walz in November.

Right-wing columnist and provocateur Ann Coulter mocked the teenager’s tears. “Talk about weird, ” she wrote 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 podcast about fatherhood, took his own swipe at the teenager: “Give that kid a tampon already,” he wrote, in an apparent jab to a Minnesota state law that Walz Free Menstrual Products signed as governor requiring educational institutions 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,