Rittenhouse Slams Biden for 'Defaming My Character' with 'White Supremacist' Smear
'It's actual malice, defaming my character for him to say something like that'
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Kyle Rittenhouse has slammed Democrat Joe Biden for publicly "defaming my character" by smearing the teen as a "white supremacist."
Speaking with host Tucker Carlson during an interview on Fox News, Rittenhouse responded to Biden sharing a video on social media last year.
The video ad used images of Rittenhouse and falsely implies he is a “white supremacist.”
Biden shared the ad on social media during his election campaign with a suggestion that he would stand up against Rittenhouse and "white supremacy."
“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,” Rittenhouse said.
“That’s not a small thing to be called that,” Fox News host Tucker Carlson said.
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"No, it’s, it’s actual malice, defaming my character for him to say something like that,” Rittenhouse asserted.
"It’s actually quite hysterical how nobody can go back and look at the facts of the case: ‘He crossed state lines,’ false. ‘He’s a white supremacist,’ false.
"None of that is true," he said.
"And the lies that they can just get away with spreading is just sickening.
"And it’s a disgrace to this country.”
WATCH:
Kyle Rittenhouse's message to President Biden:
— Scott Morefield (@SKMorefield) November 23, 2021
"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."
"It's actual malice, defaming my character for him to say something like that." pic.twitter.com/3pskxUWYyV
The Hill highlighted the context regarding the widespread claim that Biden called Rittenhouse a “white supremacist”:
Carlson and Rittenhouse were apparently referencing a video cited by defenders of the teen that was tweeted by Biden in September during the presidential race last year, which featured a clip from a debate between Biden and former president Trump.
During the debate, Fox News anchor and moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump if he was “willing to condemn white supremacist and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence in a number of these cities as we saw in Kenosha and as we’ve seen in Portland.”
The clip shows Trump responding by condemning what he called political violence “from the left wing” before telling members of the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by.”
“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. Rittenhouse’s picture was also featured in Biden’s video.
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During the same interview, Rittenhouse said that his legal team was in the process of going after individuals who defamed him in the media.
When Carlson asked if he was planning on holding “liars to account” who smeared him, Rittenhouse responded, “I have really good lawyers who are taking care of that right now.”
“So, I’m hoping one day there will be some, there’ll be accountability for their actions that they did,” Rittenhouse said.
“Okay, so you’re intent on not, you’re not gonna let that go?” Carlson pressed.
“Like I said, really good lawyers are handling that,” Rittenhouse said.
