After returning to the White House following his colonoscopy, Joe Biden was asked about the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict by the White House press pool and gave a rather bland response.
“I stand by what the jury has concluded,” Biden said. “The jury system works and we have to abide by it.”
But later, Biden released a statement, in which he said he was angry at the verdict.
“While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken.”
“I ran on a promise to bring Americans together, because I believe that what unites us is far greater than what divides us,” he continued. “I know that we’re not going to heal our country’s wounds overnight, but I remain steadfast in my commitment to do everything in my power to ensure that every American is treated equally, with fairness and dignity, under the law.”
Excuse me? How dare he invoke unity and healing when he was the one who equated Rittenhouse to white supremacists last year? In the midst of the presidential campaign, Biden equated Rittenhouse to white supremacists on at least two occasions. He featured a photo of Rittenhouse in a video posted to Twitter accusing Trump of refusing to “disavow white supremacists.”
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
He also falsely linked Rittenhouse to white supremacists during an interview on CNN with Anderson Cooper.
“I don’t know enough to know whether that 17-year-old kid, exactly what he did, but allegedly he’s part of a militia coming out of the state of Illinois. Have you ever heard this president say one negative thing about white supremacists? Have you ever heard it? That’s the reason I got back in this race because of what happened in Charlottesville,” Biden said in a 2020 interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
It’s quite clear that Joe Biden decided to defame Kyle Rittenhouse because he believed it was good for his campaign. He not only linked Rittenhouse to white supremacists in his tweet, but he did so in his interview with Anderson Cooper. In both cases, the goal was to attack Trump for allegedly failing to condemn white supremacists—which is false. Trump had done it several times.
Rittenhouse’s lawyer also addressed Biden’s past remarks while speaking to the media after the verdict was read.
“President Biden said some things that I think are so incorrect and untrue, he’s not a white supremacist. I’m glad he at least respects the verdict.”
Rittenhouse Defense: “President Biden said some things that I think are so incorrect and untrue, he’s not a white supremacist.” pic.twitter.com/EqB7Wkp0tK
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 19, 2021
Biden may say he respects the verdict and the jury system, but his “anger” at the verdict speaks volumes. Despite the evidence shown during the trial proving that Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense, by not apologizing, Biden was essentially doubling down on his past statements regarding Rittenhouse.
“Before he knew the facts, Biden prejudged the Rittenhouse case,” said RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. “He smeared a teenager to score political points and spread lies about this case.”
“What Biden did was dangerous and inflammatory,” she continued. “Biden needs to apologize and ACT NOW before the left uses his lies to fuel violence.”
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said that “Joe Biden needs to publicly apologize to Kyle Rittenhouse.”
It’s safe to say that “angry” Joe Biden will not be apologizing, but perhaps he’ll get his comeuppance eventually. Some are suggesting that Rittenhouse needs to pursue legal action against Biden.
“Kyle Rittenhouse needs to sue the s*** out of Biden for labeling him a white supremacist,” tweeted Washington Times columnist Tim Young.
“Biden received a colonoscopy this morning. Now Kyle Rittenhouse is about to shove a lawsuit up his a**,” quipped Gary Sheffield Jr. of Outkick.
Let’s hope it happens!