Rittenhouse stopped in Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump

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Since he was acquitted last week of all charges stemming from the 2020 shootings that killed two people and seriously injured another at Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha, Wis., Kyle Rittenhouse has made of several public appearances, giving sit-down interviews with cable news hosts Tucker Carlson and Ashleigh Banfield and meeting with former President Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago, where he and Trump smiled while posing for a thumbs-up photo.

“Kyle, I kind of got to know him,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview aired Tuesday night. “He called, he wanted to know if he could come over and say hello ’cause he’s a fan.”

The former president said Rittenhouse, 18, was accompanied by his mother to Mar-a-Lago.

“He’s a very good young man,” Trump said.

Rittenhouse was 17 years old when he carried an AR-style semiautomatic rifle into the streets of Kenosha during the chaotic protests that erupted after police shot Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black, in the summer of 2020. In Aug. 25, Rittenhouse, who had volunteered to protect a vehicle lot, fired at demonstrators, killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and seriously injured Gaige Grosskreutz. He was found not guilty Friday on all five counts of felony stemming from the shootings, including first-degree intentional homicide.

“That was prosecutorial misconduct,” Trump said of the case against Rittenhouse. “He shouldn’t suffer the test for that. He’s going to die.”

Former Presidents Donald Trump and Kyle Rittenhouse pose for a photo in Mar-a-Lago. (Donald Trump Jr. via Twitter)

“If he didn’t pull that trigger, that person who put the gun to his head, in a quarter of a second, he would pull the trigger,” the former president added. “Kyle would have been dead.”

Rittenhouse argued at the end of the two -week trial, arguing that he acted in self -defense by opening ammunition at demonstrators who, he claimed, were trying to attack him.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. I defended myself,” he said in his own long and, at times, emotional testimony.

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In his interview with Carlson, parts of which were released on Monday, Rittenhouse insisted he was not racist and that he supported the Black Lives Matter movement.

“This case has nothing to do with race. It has nothing to do with race. It has to do with the right to self -defense,” he said. “I’m not a racist person. I support the BLM movement. I support peacefully demonstrating.”

Rittenhouse in an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson. (Courtesy of Fox News via AP)

In his interview with Banfield, aired Tuesday on NewsNation, the young man was asked about offers for internships he has received from the most right -wing members of Congress, including Reps. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Madison Cawthorn, RN.C., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., Among others.

“I have no plans to accept any internships,” Rittenhouse said. “I really don’t want to get involved in politics.”

He was also asked about a photo with alleged members of the Proud Boys and making a hand gesture used by white supremacists.

“I didn’t know the OK hand sign was a symbol for white supremacy, just as I didn’t know the people at the bar were Proud Boys,” Rittenhouse said. “They were built by my former lawyer, who was fired because of that, for putting me in situations like people I don’t agree with.”

Rittenhouse said pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood was fired for his embrace of the QAnon conspiracy and for pushing for baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

“He goes on with all this QAnon and election fraud stuff and things we don’t agree with,” Rittenhouse said. “He’s mad.”

Rittenhouse wept as he was found not guilty of all counts at his trial in Kenosha, Wis., On Friday. (Sean Krajacic/Pool/Getty Images)

Mark Richards, Rittenhouse’s top defense attorney, also makes rounds on cable news.

In an interview with Fox News host Martha MacCallum, Richards criticized GOP lawmakers for using Rittenhouse’s name for their own political gain and offered his client some advice.

“My advice is for him to change his name and start his life again,” Richards said.

In his interview with Banfield, Rittenhouse said he was, in fact, considering changing his name – as well as his appearance.

“I’m considering changing my name and growing a beard, maybe,” Rittenhouse said. “Losing a little bit of weight – I recovered everything during this time of stress.”

Rittenhouse covered his hand with his face as he was found not guilty. (Sean Krajacic/Pool/Getty Images)

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