- In an interview with
Fox News 'Tucker Carlson ,Kyle Rittenhouse accusedJoe Biden of defaming him. - Rittenhouse said
Biden defamed his character by linking him to white supremacy in a 2020 tweet.
During an interview Monday on "Tucker Carlson Tonight," Kyle Rittenhouse rehashed his arrest and trial and chastised President Joe Biden.
"What did you make of the president of the United States calling you a white supremacist?" Fox
Rittenhouse responded: "Mr. President, if I could say one thing to you, I would urge you to go back and watch the trial and understand the facts before you make a statement."
When Carlson said it's not a "small thing" to be called a white supremacist, Rittenhouse responded, "It's actual malice, defaming my character, for him to say something like that."
But Biden wasn't president when he tweeted the video in question.
Carlson and Rittenhouse were referencing a clip Biden tweeted out after a 2020 election campaign debate between himself and former President Donald Trump.
Fox News anchor Chris Wallace had asked Trump during the debate in September 2020 if he was willing to condemn white supremacist and militia groups.
Instead, Trump responded that political violence was a left-wing problem and then told members of the Proud Boys, an alt-right white nationalist group, to "stand back and stand by."
—Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 30, 2020
Following the debate, Biden tweeted a supercut of white supremacists and militia groups, which featured an image of Rittenhouse overlayed with the audio of Trump's response to Wallace's question.
"There's no other way to put it: the President of the United States refused to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night," Biden said in the tweet accompanying the video.
In January 2021, prosecutors in
After Rittenhouse was acquitted on Friday, Biden said in a statement: "While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken."