OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki if Joe Biden would apologize to Kyle Rittenhouse and her response has raised some eyebrows.
During the briefing, Psaki made it clear that Biden had no plans to issue an apology to Rittenhouse.
Doocy asked: “Will the president apologize to acquitted Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse for suggesting that he is a white supremacist?”
Psaki answered: “Let’s be clear what we’re talking about. This is about a campaign video released last year that use President Trump’s own words during a debate as he refused to condemn white supremacist and militia groups. As we know from history and as many of you covered, President Trump did not refuse to condemn them, he actively encouraged them throughout his presidency. What we have seen is all the tragic consequences of that, when people think it is okay to take the law into their own hands instead of allowing law enforcement to do their job. The President believes in condemning hatred, racism, and violence.”
Doocy followed up by asking: “You’re saying it was just a campaign video, but it wasn’t. The President also gave an interview where he says Kyle Rittenhouse was part of a militia coming out of Illinois. Have you ever heard Trump say one thing about white supremacists? None of this was proven in the trial. Kyle Rittenhouse is saying the President had actual malice in defaming his character. Is that what happened?”
Psaki deflected again with her response: “The President spoke to the verdict last week. He has honestly condemned the hatred and division, and violence was seen around the country by groups like the Proud Boys and groups that individual has posed in photos with. Beyond that, I will leave it to his comments.”
WATCH:
Peter Doocy asks Jen Psaki if Biden would ever apologize for calling Kyle Rittenhouse a “White Supremacist” after Rittenhouse said the President defamed his character in an interview with Tucker last night. pic.twitter.com/rCKLchlSy7
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) November 23, 2021
Days after a jury found him not guilty on all charges, Kyle Rittenhouse has received even more good news.
Rittenhouse could have a defamation case against Joe Biden over a tweet suggesting Rittenhouse was a White supremacist, a lawyer who represented former Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann told Fox News.
Todd McMurtry helped Sandmann reach a $settlement with CNN over a defamation lawsuit, said Biden could be held accountable for a social media post back in 2020 before he was elected as president.
“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’s tweet said.
“The remarks were accompanied by a video showing white nationalists marching in Charlottesville, Virginia, and other images. A voice-over of Fox News’s Chris Wallace is heard asking then-President Trump during a presidential debate if he was willing to condemn White supremacists and militia groups,” Fox News reported.
“At one point in the video, an image of Rittenhouse shows him holding an AR-style rifle on the night he killed two protesters and wounded a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during unrest after the police shooting of Jacob Blake a month earlier,” the report added.
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. pic.twitter.com/Q3VZTW1vUV
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 30, 2020
“What you take from that tweet is that Kyle Rittenhouse was using his rifle and engaging in White supremacist misconduct so it’s actionable. Not necessarily going to win, but it’s actionable,” McMurtry told Fox News.
McMurtry noted Biden was not president at the time of the tweet, meaning he would not have any presidential or congressional immunity.
“Sandmann, a Kentucky resident, and CNN settled a $250 million defamation lawsuit in January 2020 over the network’s coverage of his viral confrontation with a Native American man in Washington D.C. A video clip showed Sandmann wearing a “MAGA” hat around his classmates and smiling at Nathan Phillips, who was beating a drum and singing at the Lincoln Memorial,” Fox News reported.
