"That's My Dad!"

Gus and Tim Walz's beautiful moment

The 2024 DNC in Chicago featured some heavyweight speakers including excellent deliveries from VP Harris and Gov. Walz, heavyweights like the Clintons and Obamas, and celebrities including Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry from the Golden State Warriors. On Monday, the DNC quietly released the official 2024 Democratic Party Platform which was unfortunately devoid of men’s issues (more on that in a forthcoming post).

But one moment that remains memorable was when 17-year-old Gus Walz stood up, tears streaming down his face, pointing to his father and saying the words, “That’s My Dad!” while Gov. Walz stood on the stage delivering his acceptance speech as the Democratic VP nominee.

I love how Skyler Johnson, Chair of Suffolk Young Democrats, wrote about it on X-Twitter:

Couldn’t have said it better myself! In an energetic and mostly positive convention that however lacked focus on men and their issues, this unscripted moment said a lot about family, fatherhood, and connection with people. About the love for and from a neurodivergent son. It was a genuinely beautiful moment and one that has captured the heart of the nation, and mine as well. I’m still tearing up.

While a few on the political right had the audacity to blame the kid for crying about being happy for his Dad (what nonsense!), you could tell that Trump seemed to be jealous and had to immediately chime in about his own son. Having a “who’s the better father” contest was not something I anticipated in this election.

I’m hopeful that this moment between Gus and Tim Walz, beautiful in its own right, will also help shift attitudes among Democrats toward positive feelings toward fatherhood. Support for fatherhood and men’s issues need to be included in the Democratic dialog. And despite this spontaneous moment of joy, they have largely been absent.

One exception was just before Gus’s moment when Gov. Walz spoke about his family’s issues with infertility and the use of medical treatment that aided in the birth of their third child who they then named Hope. Hope responded with a beautiful moment of her own, making a heart shape with her hands.

With an election as close as it sits currently, Democrats need every vote they can get and shouldn’t take men’s votes for granted. Especially in the 7 swing states, every vote will matter. But for this moment, whatever your politics are, we can be grateful.