Conservative political pundit Ann Coulter posted and then deleted a social media message calling Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz’s neurodivergent teenage son “weird.”
Gus Walz crying and proudly exclaiming “That’s my dad!” at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night was celebrated by many viewers as an endearing display of emotion from a 17-year-old boy with ADHD, an anxiety disorder and a nonverbal learning disability.
But others, including Coulter, saw it as an opportunity to make a fool of themselves.
I just found out you deleted that tweet. We’re still going to report you! He’s 17. They’re a beautiful family that loves each other. Leave that kid alone, weirdo! @AnnCoulter pic.twitter.com/xZz9EpNaBb
— Mike “Fight The Power” Man ’93 (@Fairshare2012) August 22, 2024
“Let’s talk about something weird…” she wrote, alongside a clip of the high school student’s enthusiastic reaction.
Coulter deleted his post after being bombarded with online criticism, including from fellow pundit and former Barack Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor.
“I can understand why a child who loves his parents might seem alien to you,” he wrote to the famously insensitive 62-year-old provocateur.
It is unclear whether Coulter was aware of Gus’s struggles before writing his tweet.
Tim Walz made “weird” the buzzword of the 2024 presidential campaign by using it effectively to describe Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance.
The 60-year-old Minnesota governor used his speech Wednesday night to thank his family for their support.
“You are my whole world and I love you,” Walz told his son, daughter and wife.
It was this sentence that caused the candidate’s son to stand up, applaud and cry.
While there was no shortage of backlash over Gus Walz’s emotional moment, there was also plenty of support.
“People who attack or make fun of 17-year-old Gus Walz simply don’t understand what JOY and LOVE are,” Brian Krassenstein, a liberal X supporter, wrote to his 859,000 followers. “They wish they had someone who cared about them as much as Gus cared about his dad.”
Countless social media users, including “Star Wars” star Mark Hamill, said they too were in tears as they watched Tim Walz’s family become emotional.
Another right-wing pundit, Wisconsin radio host Jay Weber, called Gus Walz a “talkative little kid” in a social media post that he apologized for and deleted after learning that “the kid was disabled.”
