An emotional Gus Walz was seen in the crowd at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night as his father formally accepted the nomination for vice president.
Gus Walz, standing with his mother Gwen and sister Hope, had tears streaming down his face and appeared to be sobbing openly with pride as his mother and sister silently cried beside him.
But his emotion peaked when his father addressed the family directly during his comments on the family’s fertility struggles.
“Gus, Hope and Gwen, you are my entire world and I love you,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said, prompting his 17-year-old son to jump up, clapping and crying, as he pointed back at his dad.
“That’s my dad!” Gus Walz excitedly said.
The Walz family has been open about needing to rely on fertility treatments, but they have also been open about Gus’s neurodiversity. The family has spoken about the teenager’s nonverbal learning disorder and ADHD.
Gus Walz’s emotion won the hearts of many social media users. Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki posted on the social platform X, “Team Gus Walz.”
“Tim Walz was 100 percent pitch perfect, grand slam, touchdown in every possible way. And yet somehow Gus Walz was even better,” posted Kate Bedingfield, former White House communications director.