Gus Walz Crying "That's My Dad"

Submission 4,098

Part of a series on Tim Walz. [View Related Entries]

About

Gus Walz Crying "That's My Dad" is a viral video of Gus Walz, the son of Minnesota Governor and Democratic U.S. Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz, crying at the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) while his father is on stage, seen pointing and clapping while proudly saying, "That's my dad!" to his mother and sister. The clip went viral on social media sites like Twitter / X in late August 2024, leading to wholesome discourse about the moment. Gus Walz crying was also ridiculed and mocked by Republican MAGA pundits and Donald Trump supporters online who called Gus Walz weak and a "beta male." Some also notably compared Gus Walz to Donald Trump's son Barron Trump. The negative reaction to Gus Walz crying received backlash and a viral debate ensued. Much of the discourse centered on Gus Walz having a learning disability and being special needs. At the same time, internet users began making memes with the video of Gus Walz crying, treating it like a reaction video by adding captions that outlined scenarios in which someone would be emotionally proud of a person, event or happening.

Origin

On August 21st, 2024, the third day of the 2024 Democratic National Convention took place in Chicago, Illinois.^[1] Minnesota Governor and Democratic U.S. Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz gave a speech on the day, at one point shouting out his family, including his 17-year-old son Gus Walz who was seen crying, applauding and pointing at his dad while exclaiming, "That's my dad!"^[1]

The first known upload of a video showing the scene was shared by X^[2] user @brenonade on August 21st, gaining over 6.6 million views and 47,000 likes in a day (shown below).

Spread

In the following hours, multiple X users praised Gus Walz in viral posts, such as X^[3] user @KBeds on August 21st, 2024, who said, "Tim Walz was 100 percent pitch perfect, grand slam, touchdown in every possible way. And yet somehow Gus Walz was even better," receiving over 9,300 likes in a day (shown below).

Also on August 21st, X^[4] user @Rickysan502 wrote, "As a father of a child on the spectrum… If I'm ever in a situation where my son looks at me like Gus Walz looks at his father, I'll know one thing… I've done my job and I can die in peace." The post gained roughly 31,000 likes in a day (shown below).

During the same timeframe, some X users attacked Gus Walz for crying. For instance, on August 22nd, 2024, conservative commentator and X^[5]^[6] user Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) posted a tweet (since-deleted) that captioned a story about Gus Walz crying, "Talk about weird …" referencing the "Republicans Are Weird" campaign, gaining over 1,700 likes in less than a day (shown below).

Coulter's tweet was widely panned by other X users, such as X^[7] user @RonFilipkowski who criticized Coulter, gaining over 34,000 likes in less than a day (shown below).

Other conservative pundits compared Gus Walz to Barron Trump as a way to undermine Walz. For instance, on August 22nd, X^[8] user @LangmanVince tweeted, "Pray every day that your sons grow up to be like Barron Trump and not Gus Walz," receiving over 27,000 likes in less than a day (shown below).

Some also captioned the video of Gus Walz crying in memes, such as X^[9] user @Tonywithyy on August 22nd, 2024, who captioned it, "Walking in to the bar and your buddy has a beer and a shot waiting on you," earning over 23,000 likes in less than a day (shown below).