Gus Walz, who has a nonverbal learning disorder, anxiety and ADHD, sobbed as his father, Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz, delivered his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. His emotional display triggered a wave of cyberbullying, mainly from supporters of former President Donald Trump. Conservative columnist Ann Coulter mocked the teenager’s reaction, writing on social media platform X, “Talk about weird.” The post has since been deleted.

Watch the video above as Straight Arrow News contributor Ruben Navarrette explains how some Republicans’ “ugly” responses to Gus Walz could have negative consequences in their bid to recapture the White House.

Following is an excerpt from the above video:

Picking on someone with a learning disability, that’s not a good look. And heaven knows, the GOP already has enough bad looks. Now, to be fair, this is how ugly politics has become in 2024, and ugliness is a two-way street. No one is innocent and no party is any better than the others. If Walz were a Republican and the exact same episode played out at the Republican National Convention, I can promise you that Democrats would joke about it. They never met a Republican family they didn’t beat up on or make fun of, from the Bushes to the Palins to the Vances, yet that doesn’t change anything. It certainly doesn’t let off the hook those disgusting human beings who, at one of those moments that define who a person is or isn’t, couldn’t manage to suppress their juvenile instinct to make fun of someone they perceive to be different and weak and easy to prey upon.

And these trolls are MAGA people who support Trump-Vance? Well, it sure looks that way. In that case, there must be some misunderstanding. You see, politics is about addition, not subtraction. The goal is to be likable, not detestable. What’s the political upside for Trump supporters to reveal themselves to be even more hateful than we thought they were?

What is Team Trump trying to do here, win an election or dominate an unlikeability contest? If they keep up their antics, they can forget all about the first but there’ll be a shoe-in for the second.