The Right Is Being Characteristically Weird About Family Affection at the DNC

Former President Donald Trump once said he would date his daughter, but that isn’t stopping conservatives from criticizing Democratic politicians for having what appear to be pretty normal, loving relationships with their families.

On Monday and Tuesday, conservatives took issue with a video clip from Monday’s Democratic National Convention of Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff and his daughter Ella. They also mocked Tim Walz’s son Gus for crying during his father’s speech on Wednesday. Gus Walz has a non-verbal learning disorder, ADHD, and an anxiety disorder, as the Walzs detailed to People.

“Talk about weird,” conservative commentator Ann Coulter wrote on X, formerly Twitter, about Gus Walz crying at the convention.

“Tim Walz stupid crying son isn’t the flex the left thinks it is,” wrote Trump delegate Mike Crispi. “You raised your kid to be a puffy beta male. Congrats. Does Barron Trump cry? Nope. Does he love his father? Of course. That’s the types of values I want leading the country.”

Crispi later deleted the post, saying he didn’t have context. However, his timeline still features a post criticizing Walz’s family for crying during their father’s speech.

Earlier in the week, conservatives teed off on Ella Emhoff having her arm around her father’s shoulders, with his arm around her waist. 

“Totally not weird,” Charlie Kirk, founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, posted on X, formerly Twitter. Turning Point USA is a group that aims to promote conservative politics among students. 

Democrats began calling Trump, his running mate J.D. Vance, and the Republican Party “weird” last month. It’s clearly gotten under the skin of conservative commentators like Kirk, who have been trying to turn the attack around on Democrats. The line has also been driving Trump crazy. Yesterday, the former president felt the need to spend time at an economic event trying to clarify that he and Vance are “extremely normal people.”

“This is Kamala’s family. Beyond parody,” wrote X account End Wokeness, which has nearly 3 million followers.

“Creepy,” posted Benny Johnson, a conservative political commentator and YouTuber.

Ella Emhoff, 25, is a model and artist. She got attention elsewhere for her camouflage hat, which says “Harris Walz” on it. The hat is similar to one that singer Chappell Roan is selling. 

The Emhoffs weren’t the only ones to receive this kind of attention on Monday night and Tuesday morning. Johnson also posted a video from Monday of Joe Biden hugging his daughter Ashley. “What is going on here?!” Johnson wrote on X. “Joe Biden creepily hugs his daughter Ashley before taking the stage tonight,” he added on Instagram.

In her appearance at the DNC on Monday, Ashley called her father the “OG girl dad” and said, “He told me I could be anything and I could do anything.”

Perhaps this outrage at the videos from Monday is projection, as Trump sets a good example of what being creepy with your daughter actually looks like. Photos have circulated of Trump and his daughter being uncomfortably close, such as one photo in which a teenage Ivanka sits on his lap.

In 2004, Trump told radio host Howard Stern that it would be OK to call Ivanka a “piece of ass.”

“My daughter is beautiful, Ivanka,” Trump said.

“By the way, your daughter,” Stern said.

“She’s beautiful,” Trump responded.

“Can I say this? A piece of ass,” Stern said.

“Yeah,” Trump said.

Now, that’s creepy.