In his first-ever interview, Gus Walz explained his instantly viral moment at the Democratic National Convention in August when his father, Gov. Tim Walz, accepted the nomination for vice president. Gus pointed at his father, stood up and, with tears in his eyes, said, “That’s my dad!”
“I was just being emotional,” Gus, 18, said in a “CBS Mornings” interview that aired Monday. “There’s nothing wrong with showing emotions.”
During the interview, Gwen Walz explained that Gus was diagnosed with a nonverbal learning disorder, ADHD and an anxiety disorder in the sixth grade.
The experience brought the pair closer than ever and Gus said his mom is his best friend.
“Routine really helps me, you know. Consistency. So I think my mom and me were, like, ‘All right, let’s go in. Let’s go try and figure some stuff out.’ And that’s really kind of what started us getting super, super close,” Gus said. “Whatever I need, my mom’s there. She’s the most important person in my life.”
Here’s what else Gus had to say during the interview:
On what he remembers about the DNC:
“It was crazy. And I’m looking at my mom and I’m like, you know, that’s my dad. He’s right there. He’s right in front of America. All these people chanting our last name, it was super overwhelming. Because to me, he’s just regular old dad, you know, just normal dad. Golfs with me, makes food, cleans the cars, everything like that. And in that moment it was something bigger. It was just surreal.”
On his reaction to those who criticized his viral moment:
“I just kind of ignored it, I guess, was the only way to put it. I just continued to do what I do. I just blocked it out because I was just being emotional. Like, there’s nothing wrong with showing emotions and if people are going to say there’s something wrong with that, then those are not the people that I want to be associated with. So, I kind of just blocked that out.”
What he wants people to know about him:
“I think some people think I’m a little slow and, like, I’m not like a normal kid. And I think that I’m one of the most normal people that you could find … I am a normal kid who likes to play volleyball, loves his family, loves his friends and likes to help people out.”
On how his disorders help him in his life:
“There’s definitely some big strengths … I’m really good at making relationships with people. One of the things I’m not as good at is picking up on non-verbal cues like when somebody, you know, says they’re done or they’re ready to be done. Sometimes I can’t tell if they’re being serious or not.
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“Like a volleyball ref. Sometimes I’ll do something wrong and they’ll go up and they’ll be like, ‘All right, you’ve got to knock that off.’ But I’m like, oh they’re just messing. And then I’ll go back and I’ll do it again and get in a little bit more trouble. So what I’ve learned is a strength for me is to make that relationship before the game. So I’ll go up and greet the ref before the game and be like hey this is me.”
On his plans for later that night, after his volleyball game:
“There’s a promposal going on after. I’ve been talking to this girl. Her name’s Eleanor. Really nice girl. And I’m going to ask her to prom.” (She said yes.)
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