Tim Walz’s 17-year-old son sobbed as his father accepted the nomination for vice president at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday. When Walz said to the crowd, “Gus, Hope, and Gwen, you are my entire world and I love you,” the boy, who has a nonverbal learning disorder, pointed at his father proudly through tears and said, “That’s my dad.” Bullies online — including some in conservative media — called the display “weird.” Others have called his son nasty names or made vile jokes.
The Walz family’s display of emotion was heartwarming, and sweet, and refreshingly real. Anyone with half a mind to criticize the governor’s underage children should can it. If there was one thing that made the VP nominee appealing this week, it was his “family man” persona; whether or not one believes that the candidate is as honest as he claims to be, it’s quite clear that, to him, family matters. Some think it’s okay to attack Gus with a flurry of online hate as retribution for the attacks that children of Republican candidates have sustained; but it’s just as wrong to mock Gus as it is to mock Barron Trump. Gus is a kid who’s proud of his dad. What decent person can attack that?