Tim Walz’s 17-year-old son Gus bursts into tears as his father takes the stage to accept his choice as Kamala Harris’ running mate

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 cried, while daughter Hope made the heart symbol and said “I love you” with her mouth.

“That’s my dad,” Gus, 17, shouted as he stood up and pointed to his father on the convention stage.

It was his tear-jerking moment that captured hearts across the country and across social media. The two children sat in the front row of the convention with their mother, Gwfor, 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 onstage for hugs and waves to the audience.

Tim and Gwen Walz have spoken openly about their fertility struggles and how they used fertility treatments to conceive their two children.

Walz, the governor of Minnesota, referred to that moment in his speech.

“This is personal for Gwen and me. If you’ve never experienced the hell that is infertility, I’m sure you know someone who has,” he said.

“I remember praying every night for a phone call and feeling the pit of your stomach when the phone rang and the absolute agony of hearing that treatments weren’t working. It took years, but we had access to fertility treatments. When our daughter was born, we named her Hope.”

He added: ‘Hope, Gus and Gwen, you are my whole world and I love you.’

His family stood to cheer him on.

Gus has a nonverbal learning disorder, ADHD and an anxiety disorder, Walz told People magazine.

Hope Walz is often seen on her father’s social media accounts, including a video Walz posted last Thanksgiving in which he tries to convince his daughter to eat turkey.

“I’m a vegetarian,” Hope Walz says in the video, pointing out that turkey is meat.

“Not in Minnesota. Minnesota is special,” Walz replied.

That moment aired Wednesday at the convention. Gwen Walz shared a video of their family’s story, including how the couple met when they were both high school teachers.

Are youThe Walz used a procedure known as intrauterine insemination, or IUI. IUI is often attempted before IVF, but has not attracted the same level of political controversy because it does not risk destroying unused embryos, which anti-abortion activists say are tantamount to unborn children.

Gus Walz, 17, was reduced to tears when he saw his father on stage – a moment that broke hearts on social media

Hope, Gus, Tim and Gwen Walz

Walz paid little attention in his speech to his time as a politician, including his 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 ending his speech with a pep talk that referred back to his time as a coach.

“There will be time to sleep when you’re dead. We’re going to leave it on the field. That’s how we keep moving forward.”