'Completely off limits': Internet shreds MAGA for 'cruelly' mocking Walz’s neurodivergent son

22 August 2024

When Minnesota Governor Tim Walz formally accepted the Democratic Party's 2024 vice presidential nomination on Wednesday night, his 17 year-old son Gus went viral for standing up with tears in his eyes, shouting "that's my dad!" MAGA-aligned social media accounts then proceeded to pile on the neurodivergent teen in numerous tweets shared thousands of times.

As Newsweek reported, Gus Walz is disabled and has been diagnosed with ADHD, a non-verbal learning disorder and an anxiety disorder. That didn't stop conservative influencers from making jokes about the teen. When pro-MAGA account @dom_lucre posted the video of the young Walz tearing up watching his father's speech, far-right influencer Collin Rugg tweeted: "Bruh." Conservative podcaster Alec Lace responded by writing, "get that kid a tampon already." The account @AutismCapital posted a screengrab of Walz's teary-eyed close-up with the text: "When you find one working McDonald's Ice Cream machine in your city."

MAGA's mockery of Gus Walz didn't go over well with other users on X (formerly Twitter). Menswear expert Derek Guy responded to @AutismCapital's tweet by asking: "What goes through your head when you bait your audience to make jokes about people with ALS and children?" (the account previously highlighted a video played at the Democratic National Convention in which someone with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis spoke about freedom).

Texas-based pastor Zach W. Lambert lambasted "those calling themselves Christians" for cyberbullying Gov. Walz's son, saying he was "appalled at the ridicule" from supporters of former President Donald Trump.

"Have people been so co-opted by toxic masculinity and partisan politics that they can't even watch a young man shed tears of love and embrace his father without mocking him?" Lambert wrote.

Comedian George Wallace didn't hold back in ripping MAGA for their reactions to Walz's son crying at the convention. He included hand-clap emojis in between each word in an all-caps tweet, posting: "KEEP GUS WALZ'S NAME OUT YO DAMN MOUTH HE LOVES HIS DAD AND AIN'T AFRAID TO SHOW THAT S— AND WHATNOT!"

Author Kenny Akers implored social media to draw a red line when it came to making fun of the children of political candidates. He argued that Gus Walz is "completely off limits" and that the teen was merely "radiating compassion and love for his father." He added that he was moved by the Walz family's "love and joy." Suffolk County (New York) Young Democrats chair Skyler Johnson also praised Gus Walz's outpouring of emotion, tweeting: "Men can cry. Men can show emotion."

On the social media platform Bluesky, Chronicle of Higher Education contributor Kevin McClure noted that MAGA making fun of Walz stood out in particular for him as a father.

"The election is very simple for me in many ways," McClure wrote. "One of them is that I know, with confidence, one party and its leader would cruelly mock my son."

Mother Jones Washington, D.C. bureau chief David Corn quote-tweeted a post from an account that posted side-by-side photos of Gus Walz and Barron Trump that read "I CHOOSE BARRON TRUMP OVER GUS WALZ[.] WHAT ABOUT YOU?" Corn observed that "for MAGA, being mean is a goal."

Progressive influencer Mueller She Wrote opined that those making fun of Gus Walz are simply "prov[ing] the point that they're the bad guys" and added, "if you see that love, and your reaction is hate, you’re a small person with an evil heart."

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