Conservative activist Kyle Rittenhouse made a U-turn of former President Donald Trump following intense backlash from the former president’s supporters.
Rittenhouse changed his stance on Friday, just a few hours after stating he wouldn’t vote for Trump. Rittenhouse, who rose to fame after shooting four people in self-defense during the 2020 riot, released a video on X criticizing the former president’s Second Amendment policies and announcing he would not support him.
“Unfortunately, Donald Trump had bad advisors making him bad on the Second Amendment, and that is my issue,” Rittenhouse said. “If you cannot be completely uncompromisable on the Second Amendment, I will not vote for you, and I will write somebody else in.”
Oh well, Kyle I regret to inform you that I will no longer be one of your guests on September 12 at the TXGR event. I reckon you can write in someone else. This was not the way, bud. pic.twitter.com/8FjZM1a6Sg
— Chad Prather (@WatchChad) August 2, 2024
Rittenhouse’s statement sparked intense backlash from Trump supporters online, with many feeling betrayed and disappointed by his stance.
“I regret ever supporting Kyle. He’s flat out lying about Trump,” one social media user wrote. commented, “Kyle chose to betray his nation and those that supported him. Sad! Going to be amusing when he tries to grovel back to Mar-a-Lago in a few months.”
Kyle Rittenhouse turned on Trump and many people were mad because the MAGA world raised him so much money and supported him when no one else would.
President Trump showed him nothing but love and at the very last minute he trashed Trump.
12 hours later he apologized after he…
— Terrence K. Williams (@w_terrence) August 2, 2024
In a quick turnaround, Rittenhouse posted in the afternoon that his previous comments were unproductive, marking a complete shift from his earlier declaration that he intended to write in former Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX).
“Over the past 12 hours, I’ve had a series of productive conversations with members of the Trump’s team and I am confident he will be the strong ally gun owners need to defend our Second Amendment rights. My comments made last night were ill-informed and unproductive. I’m 100% behind Donald Trump and encourage every gun owner to join me in helping send him back to the White House.,” Rittenhouse wrote on X.
Over the past 12 hours, I've had a series of productive conversations with members of the Trump's team and I am confident he will be the strong ally gun owners need to defend our Second Amendment rights.
My comments made last night were ill-informed and unproductive. I'm 100%…
— Kyle Rittenhouse (@ThisIsKyleR) August 2, 2024
This change of heart came shortly after that video, which had initially sparked Critics on X.
Rittenhouse’s alignment with conservative causes and his advocacy for gun rights have made him popular since his acquittal in the fall of 2021. He initially faced murder charges for shooting the four individuals but was acquitted after a successful self-defense argument. He was charged with first-degree intentional homicide but claimed self-defense during the protests against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he fatally shot two people and injured another.
