Watching Tim Walz’s son Gus, who has a non-verbal learning disorder, standing up, clapping and crying with pride, mouthing, “That’s my dad!” as Walz, the governor of Minnesota and Kamala Harris’s Democratic running mate for the presidency, made a powerful speech, brought tears to my eyes.
It’s a hugely moving moment. Walz is talking about the values he has learnt as a former teacher and “the hell of infertility” that he and his wife, Gwen, faced trying to conceive Gus and their daughter, Hope.
“Hope, Gus and Gwen, you are my entire world,” he says to his family, at which point Gus stands up clapping, silently cheering and pointing proudly to his father.
The social media world was quick to respond. “That kid had me