Mallrats actor Jeremy London tearfully spoke out against conservatives who've attacked Gus Walz, the son of Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate Tim Walz, following his emotional reaction to his father accepting his party's nomination for Vice President at the Democratic National Convention.
Cameras caught the 17-year-old yelling out "That's my dad!" as the audience cheered, moving viewers around the country.
However, conservatives have seized on the boy's response, suggesting he'd shown too much emotion and even comparing him to Barron Trump, the very low-profile and rather stoic youngest son of former President Donald Trump.
Shortly afterward, a visibly emotional London stuck up for the teenager by revealing to his fans in a video message on X, formerly Twitter, that his grandson, Kingston, is non-verbal and autistic. He discussed in detail the challenges he's faced raising him but noted that he "wouldn't change it for the world."
He said:
“You guys know that we’ve been raising our grandbaby Kingston. But what I haven’t ever mentioned, because it just simply doesn’t matter in the big picture of things, is that he’s also nonverbal, and he’s autistic, and [there are] challenges to raising him that I didn’t have with my other sons."
"But I wouldn’t trade it for the world. This baby’s my … he’s my life. He’s my world. I’m telling you right now, if anybody says anything mean about Gus, I’m not gonna be nice anymore.”
He added:
“I’m proud of my grandbaby, and I know Tim Walz is proud of his son. I don’t know why I felt compelled to need to do this, but it just, I guess it gave me some hope for my grandson, but it also made me realize there’s gonna be a lot of really ugly people out there doing a lot of really ugly things, saying a lot of really nasty things."
"And they’re about to see a side of me that I don’t even want to come out.”
He concluded with the following appeal:
"He's [Gus] a special kid and Tim Walz is a special person. Let's just get to the ballot box and vote. Let's shift the mood in this country. The reason I'm upset right now is because I know there's a certain faction of people that are going to be horrible to this child."
"So now it's personal."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Many applauded London's response and pledged their support.
Tim Walz has openly and affectionately discussed Gus, who has ADHD, a nonverbal learning disorder, and an anxiety disorder. Walz and his wife, both former educators, recently shared in a statement to People that they have never viewed Gus’ conditions as a barrier.
At the time, Walz said:
"Like so many American families, it took us time to figure out how to make sure we did everything we could to make sure Gus would be set up for success as he was growing up. It took time, but what became so immediately clear to us was that Gus’ condition is not a setback − it’s his secret power."
Supporters of Americans with learning disabilities believe the Walz family's candidness about their son and their decision to speak openly about their experiences will bring much-needed awareness, potentially benefiting others facing similar challenges.
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@BillAckman/Twitter