As someone who was inside the United Center during the entire Democratic National Convention, I can tell you it was sensory overload at times for the tens of thousands of us who were there every night.
The sheer amount of people, combined with the lights, crowd noise, and music, would overwhelm anyone after a while. But for those in attendance with special needs or sensory issues, it was understandably even more impactful.
Gus Walz, the teenage son of Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz, just happens to be neurodivergent. He's also just a kid. But his emotional response to his father's stirring acceptance speech Wednesday night at the DNC set off the MAGA Bullies who just can't abide open displays of love between parents and children.
Sitting in the front row next to his sister, Hope (who was also visibly emotional), Gus cheered and openly wept as his dad spoke lovingly about their family and his life as a teacher and coach. "That's my dad!" Gus shouted proudly, his emotions mirroring plenty of us in the crowd who weren't being shown on global television.
From my perspective on the floor that night, all I saw was a happy family on that stage. But MAGA saw weakness in Gus Walz, even after Twitter users kept sharing the fact that Gus is neurodivergent, although it's still never okay for adults to bully children for any reason.
Leading the hate brigade was MAGA Mean Girl Ann Coulter, who is childless herself (whether or not she has cats is unknown).
Twitter users immediately trended "#TeamGusWalz" and rallied around the entire Walz family.
#TeamGusWalz for life!