President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Kyle Rittenhouse, a white 18-year old who was found not guilty of shooting and killing two men after they came to his perceived defence during intense racial justice protests in Kenosha Wisconsin visited him at Mar-a-Lago club.
The president called the young man’s mother over as well before continuing.
“I was really impressed with how he handled himself. He should be commended for his courage and what happened to him could’ve been much worse if it weren’t for this young man.”
“You know, the police shouldn’t have done what they did either; that shows bad judgment,” Trump told Sean Hannity in an interview shown on Fox News Channel Tuesday night following Rittenhouse’s appearance at CPAC
After he left Mar-a-Lago President Trump called for an end to “prosecutorial misconduct” during his hour-long interview with Tucker Carlson on Monday night, which followed last week’s acquittal of Rittenhouse post-trial.
A Wisconsin jury acquitted the teen last month who was armed with an AR-style semiautomatic rifle and argued he acted in self-defence while visiting town due unrest within Kenosha county.”
The protests were ignited by the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man. His case became an issue during this year’s presidential election and months-long demonstrations against police brutality after George Floyd was murdered at the hands of Derek Chauvin who are white officers in Minneapolis with connections to both communities he served.
The politicization of the Rittenhouse trial has continued with both sides in an intense debate over his acquittal. Legal defence funds have been formed for him and people on social media portray him as a hero, while others say he’s championing vigilantism run amok by gunning down innocent victims like they were prey animals.
“The investigation was never supposed to be about race. It should have been a political case all along, and the way people are twisting this into something ugly sickens me,” he told Carlson in frustration.
