Right-Wing Cruelty Targets Tim Walz's Son Gus After Heartwarming DNC Moment
Right-Wing Cruelty Targets Tim Walz's Son Gus After Heartwarming DNC Moment
Right-wing figures mock neurodivergent teen for showing emotion at DNC.
During his acceptance speech as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee on Wednesday night, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz shared a deeply personal story about his family’s struggle with infertility. As he concluded by saying, “Hope, Gus, and Gwen, you are my entire world, and I love you,” the camera caught his 17-year-old son Gus standing up, tears in his eyes, pointing to his father and exclaiming, “That’s my dad!”
It was a sweet display of familial love and pride — a rare moment of raw emotion in the ordinarily carefully choreographed world of political conventions. For many viewers, it was surely a timely reminder of the human beings behind the political personas we see on stage.
TIM WALZ, DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR VP: If you’ve never experienced the hell that is infertility, I guarantee you, you know somebody who has. I can remember praying each night for a phone call. The pit in your stomach when the phone would ring, and the absolute agony when we heard the treatments hadn’t worked.
It took Gwen and I years, but we had access to fertility treatments. And when our daughter was born, we named her Hope. Hope, Gus and Gwen, you are my entire world, and I love you. I’m letting you in on how we started a family because this is a big part about what this election is about. Freedom.
However, what should have been universally recognized as a beautiful father-son moment quickly became fodder for cruel mockery from pro-Trump social media accounts. The contrast between Gus Walz’s sincere emotion and the derision it provoked from the right offers a troubling glimpse into the state of political discourse and the depths to which partisan attacks have sunk. This not only highlights the lack of basic human decency in certain right-wing corners of our politics but also raises important questions about how conservatives view emotional expression, particularly from young men, in the public sphere.
Background
Not only is Gus a minor, but he’s also neurodivergent. People recently ran a story about the Walz family and what Tim and Gwen Walz have come to refer to as Gus’s “secret power" — a non-verbal learning disorder, ADHD, and anxiety disorder.
Tim Walz told People:
"When our youngest Gus was growing up, it became increasingly clear that he was different from his classmates," the couple tell PEOPLE. "Gus preferred video games and spending more time by himself."
The statement continues: "When he was becoming a teenager, we learned that Gus has a non-verbal learning disorder in addition to an anxiety disorder and ADHD, conditions that millions of Americans also have."
It’s a sweet article that makes the attacks that would follow Gus’s display of emotion that much more unacceptable.
The attacks
Anti-LGBTQ activist Terry Schilling of the American Principles Project mocked Gus Walz, writing, “Tim Walz’ son Gus wears eyeliner.”
Prominent pro-Trump Twitter accounts Dom Lucre, Colin Rugg, and Autism Capital all mocked the 17-year-old.
“Get that kid a tampon already,” wrote a right-wing podcaster Alec Lace.
Trump ally Mike Crispi called Gus Walz a “beta bitch.”
Right-wing radio host Jay Weber called Gus Walz a “blubbering bitch boy.”
Ann Coulter called Gus Walz “weird.”
You get the idea.
This isn’t okay
The cruelty directed at Gus Walz is not an isolated incident, but a disturbing pattern in right-wing political media. For all the conservative rhetoric about "family values" and pleas to "leave the kids out of it," we consistently see figures on the right finding excuses to attack minors for political gain.
We've witnessed it in the actions of accounts like Libs of TikTok, which regularly targets LGBTQ+ youth, potentially exposing them to harassment and danger. We've seen it in attacks on climate activist Greta Thunberg, the survivors of school shootings, and now in the vitriol aimed at Gus Walz. The right seems to have no qualms about weaponizing children and teenagers in their culture war, all while claiming to be the protectors of youth.
Even if Gus Walz wasn’t neurodivergent, even if he didn’t have a non-verbal learning disorder, these attacks should have been off-limits. And yet, as expected, here they are. Shame on them.
Nobody's hearts and minds are moved by performative cruelty. All fathers hope their sons will be proud of them. Tim is the luckiest father in the world. I teared up watching Gus give so much love to his dad.
I mean all I thought seeing that was hopefully one day my son and I will have that kind of relationship when he is older. I simply think the weird right do not appreciate non-transactional relationships. But most dads my age do, and I hope that is illuminating for them.