Not only did White House press secretary Jen Psaki refuse to apologize to Kyle Rittenhouse on behalf of President Joe Biden during her Tuesday media briefing, but she actually accused him of acting as a vigilante.
Is this administration begging for a lawsuit?
Biden of course defamed the teen last fall during his campaign by connecting him to the left’s election-year boogeyman — racism. Now that Rittenhouse has been found to have been lawfully defending himself from a mob during a riot last year that Democrats encouraged, Biden finds himself on the defensive.
He essentially labeled a minor accused of a crime as a white supremacist last year in this ad:
Don’t forget, Biden labeled a 17-year old Rittenhouse a “white supremacist.” Beyond shameful. pic.twitter.com/G1mA7XLqHj
— Rep. Dan Bishop (@RepDanBishop) November 19, 2021
Now, the chickens might be coming home to roost, as Rittenhouse behaved within the law, and Biden convicted him of being a racist with a gun in front of the entire country as he was about to go on trial. There is also the fact that Biden was a private citizen at the time he defamed a kid, so he might be wide open to being served with a civil suit.
Fox News reporter Peter Doocy, the only White House pool reporter interested in asking questions about things other than ice cream, held Psaki’s feet to the fire over Biden’s false labeling of Rittenhouse as a deplorable racist last year.
“Would the president ever apologize to the acquitted Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse for suggesting online and on TV that he is a white supremacist?” asked Doocy.
“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.
DOOCY: “Would the president ever apologize to Kyle Rittenhouse” for calling him a white supremacist?@PressSec: “The president believes in condemning hatred, division, and violence. That’s exactly what was done in that video.” pic.twitter.com/Gvemkkxyk0
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 23, 2021
“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.”
You did not misread that. Psaki did in fact say that Rittenhouse took the law into his own hands and that Biden’s ugly comments should be forgotten because it was campaign season.
A jury in Wisconsin last Friday certainly disagreed that the teen was a vigilante. Jurors who actually looked at the evidence found that the then-17-year-old was simply defending himself. Luckily for people who enjoy transparency, Doocy pressed Psaki on the matter, noting that Biden had disparaged an American teenager accused of committing numerous crimes.
“You’re saying that it was just a campaign video — it wasn’t,” he said. “The president also gave an interview where he said Rittenhouse was part of a militia coming out of Illinois.”
“None of this was proven in the trial,” he noted with regard to the teen being connected to any extremist groups. “And Kyle Rittenhouse is saying the president had actual malice in defaming his character. Is that what happened here?”
Psaki pivoted to answering Doocy by deflecting, noting that Biden has condemned “hatred” and “division.”
There is of course zero evidence that Rittenhouse was ever involved with any extremist groups, unless you count the Grayslake Police Department and the Antioch Fire Department — which we know some Democrats would. Rittenhouse was a junior cadet with both departments at the time he shot grown men in self-defense during a riot supported by Democrats.
Police officers and firefighters (and future police officers and firefighters) stop criminals and firefighters put out fires — both of which are not compatible with rioting.
None of who Rittenhouse is or was screams white supremacy. None of what Psaki or Biden have said about Rittenhouse matches the facts. Perhaps Psaki could have offered a simple apology, or at least surrendered the fact that Biden spoke too soon and there was no reason to portray him as some sort of Ku Klux Klan grand wizard.
Rittenhouse told Fox News host Tucker Carlson in an interview that aired on Monday that he believes Biden’s campaign references to him were defamation of character.
Rittenhouse on Biden calling him a White Supremacist: “It’s actual malice, defaming my character, for him to say something like that.”
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) November 23, 2021
Hopefully, the teen sues everyone who wronged him. The White House has now called him both a racist and a vigilante, and none of that is remotely close to true.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
