It was an emotional moment for the Walz family as they watched their patriarch accept the Democratic nomination for vice president.
Tim Walz’s son Gus shed tears, while his daughter Hope made a heart symbol and mouthed “I love you.”
“That’s my dad,” shouted Gus, 17, as he stood up and pointed at his father on the convention stage.
It was that tearful moment that captivated the entire country and all of social media. The two boys sat in the front row of the convention with their mother Gwen as their father made his debut on the national political stage.
Gwen, Gus and Hope Walz watch their father Tim take the stage
Hope Walz, 23, took photos as her father spoke. After Walz finished his speech, his family joined him on stage to hug and wave to the crowd.
Tim and Gwen Walz have spoken publicly about their struggles with fertility and how they used fertility treatments to conceive their two children.
Minnesota Gov. Walz referenced that moment in his remarks.
“This is personal for Gwen and I. If you’ve never experienced the hell that is infertility, I guarantee you know someone who has,” she said.
“I remember praying every night for a phone call and the pain in my stomach when the phone rang and the absolute agony when we found out the treatments weren’t working. It took years, but we got access to fertility treatments. When our daughter was born, we named her Hope.”
She added: “Hope, Gus and Gwen, you are my whole world and I love you.”
His family stood up to applaud him.
Gus has a nonverbal learning disorder, ADHD and an anxiety disorder, Walz told People magazine.
Hope Walz is a frequent presence on her father’s social media accounts, including a viral video Walz reposted last Thanksgiving in which he tries to convince his daughter to eat turkey.
“I’m a vegetarian,” Hope Walz says in the video, noting that turkey is meat.
—Not in Minnesota. Minnesota is special, Walz said.
That moment was the center of attention at Wednesday’s convention. Gwen Walz narrated a video telling her family’s story, including how they met when they were both high school teachers.
The Walzes used a treatment known as intrauterine insemination, or IUI. IUI is often attempted before IVF, but it does not face the same level of political controversy because it does not risk destroying unused embryos that abortion advocates say amount to unborn children.
Gus Walz, 17, cried as he watched his father on stage – a moment that broke hearts on social media
Hope, Gus, Tim and Gwen Walz
Walz devoted little time in his speech to discussing his experience as a politician, which included years in Washington as a member of Congress and his tenure as governor of Minnesota.
Instead, he focused on his time as a teacher and coach, even concluding his speech with a motivational talk that evoked his coaching days.
“There will be time to sleep when you are dead. We will leave it in the field. That is how we will continue to move forward.”