“That’s my dad!” Gus Walz exclaims, while crying and clapping for his father on the stage. What seems to be a sweet and loving moment where the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz’s son is cheering his father on at the Democratic National Convention, turns into a turmoil of social media ridicule and mockery. From Ann Coulter, political commentator, posting a tweet stating, “Talk about weird…” to Dinesh D’Souza’s controversial tweet garnering a response from none other than Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban, the situation calls for question on how far the contempt can possibly go when it comes to our nation’s First & Second Children.
Historically, First & Second Children (children of the President and Vice President), have been put in front of the public eye and subjected to mockery just because of opposing political views. From Chelsea Clinton being ridiculed on Saturday Night Live and Barron Trump being derided by Twitter users, to Ella Emhoff being mocked for her appearance on TikTok and the Obama sisters being chased down by paparazzi and patronized by a GOP staffer, the public scrutiny that they have had to face has reached a new point of transgression. Alea Ruiter, junior at Monte Vista, agreed, saying,
“I have definitely witnessed the discrimination of politicians’ children over time,” Junior Alea Ruiter said. “It’s interesting because they are put on a global stage, and at the time, most of them were the same age as us. I could never imagine myself being subject to such criticism and social media slander.”
Ruiter reflected on how First and Second Children, for the most part, are just like us – but famous without asking to be. Once a politician is exposed to even a couple thousand people, their life is examined under a magnifying glass, and their children are not left out of this contemptuous public reception, especially after the rise of social media usage.
This insolence was on full display this past August when Tim Walz made an appearance at the DNC with his family, including his wife Gwen Walz and two children Hope and Gus Walz. Gus Walz is neurodivergent and has a nonverbal learning disorder. As his father took the stage, he cheered for him with excitement, pointing him out and clapping his hands elatedly. The happiness that Gus felt in that moment was unmatched, even in comparison to the rest of his family. However, Gus was subjected to social media slander, being called ableist slurs and, amongst other things, “weird”.
Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen, released a joint statement to People Magazine at the end of August regarding Gus,“When our youngest Gus was growing up, it became increasingly clear that he was different from his classmates. Gus preferred video games and spending more time by himself. When he was becoming a teenager, we learned that Gus has a non-verbal learning disorder in addition to an anxiety disorder and ADHD, conditions that millions of Americans have.” The Walzses added, “It took time, but what became so immediately clear to us was that Gus’ condition is not a setback – it’s his secret power.”
Nat van Roodselaar, senior at Monte Vista and secretary of the Neurodiversity Advocacy Club, feels that the reception of Gus Walz negatively affects the neurodiversity community: “People are saying there’s no room for neurodiverse individuals in politics…[these] reactions are reinforcing the idea that we are intrusive and annoying because now due to all the online outrage, [the public] is constantly regarding neurodivergent people in a negative light.”
Body shaming, slurs, and threats to safety – where does it end? Criticizing politicians is one thing, but attacking children and minors is another. It’s time we separate the public lives of those running for office from their children.
