Former President Donald Trump described Kyle Rittenhouse as a “nice young man” who endured “prosecutorial misconduct” after having met with him.
The meeting happened at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, and Fox News host Sean Hannity showed a photo at the tail-end of an interview with the former president that aired Tuesday evening. Rittenhouse, whose actions last summer got mixed into the 2020 election discussion, made headlines earlier this week after putting President Joe Biden on notice for what he views as defamation.
“He came over with his mother,” Trump said. “Really a nice young man, and what he went through, that was prosecutorial misconduct. He should not have had to suffer through a trial like that.”
“I got to know him a little bit,” Trump said. “He called, wanted to know if he could come over and say hello because he was a fan, unlike the other guy.”
A Wisconsin jury on Friday found Rittenhouse, 18, not guilty on all five charges in the fatal shooting of two men and injuring a third during riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last summer. The teenager claims he was acting in self-defense, and the legal drama surrounding him captured the country’s attention.
THE KENOSHA VIGILANTES WERE THE MEN WHO ATTACKED KYLE RITTENHOUSE
Trump said Rittenhouse is a “good young guy” and that he had just left Mar-a-Lago.
“He should never have been put through that,” Trump said. “That was prosecutorial misconduct, and it’s happening all over the United States right now with the Democrats.”
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Rittenhouse slammed Biden during an interview with Tucker Carlson on Monday, stating a 2020 campaign ad linking him to white supremacists was “actual malice” and defamed his character.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended the video on Tuesday.
“Well, let’s be clear what we’re talking about here. This is about a campaign video released last year that used President Trump’s own words during a debate as he refused to condemn white supremacists and militia groups, and President Trump, as we know from history, and as many of you covered, didn’t just refuse to condemn militia groups on the debate stage — he actively encouraged them throughout his presidency,” Psaki said in response to a question on the subject. “So, you know, what we’ve seen are the tragic consequences of that when people think it’s OK to take the law into their own hands, instead of allowing law enforcement to do its job, and the president believes in condemning hatred, division, and violence. That’s exactly what was done in that video.”
