Tim Walz’s emotional family cheered him on at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night as he took to the stage to accept the party’s Vice Presidential nomination.
His 17-year-old son Gus, sitting in the front row, was visibly emotional as his father, the governor of Minnesota, took to the stage in front of thousands of people with millions more watching.
He wept through much of his father’s speech to the Democratic faithful, and at one point stood up in pride and yelled, “That’s my dad!”
Meanwhile, Mr Walz’s 23-year-old daughter Hope made the heart symbol and mouthed “love you.”
When the speech was over, Mr Walz’s children climbed on stage and wrapped their dad in a tight bear hug, with Gus burying his face in his shoulder.
His parents recently disclosed to People magazine that the high school senior has a non-verbal learning disorder, ADHD and an anxiety disorder.
But they called his condition "his secret power" and said he's "brilliant" and poised for success.
When Tim Walz was elected governor, the teen cheered because it meant the family could get a dog. They adopted a black lab named Scout a few months later.
Mr Walz talks often about the IVF fertility treatments his wife, Gwen, underwent to get pregnant with Hope, a journey he says inspired her name.
As he told the story on Wednesday, Hope made a heart with her hands and held it over her chest.
"Hope, Gus and Gwen," the governor said to his family, "you are my entire world, and I love you."
It marked a moment for Mr Walz’s son, after older sister Hope delighted Americans with the playful social media videos she filmed with their dad.
This included a viral video last year in which Mr Walz attempts to persuade his daughter to eat turkey at Thanksgiving.
“I'm vegetarian,” Hope Walz says in the video, pointing out turkey is meat.
But Mr Walz joked: “Not in Minnesota. Minnesota is special.”
