Tipsheet

Here's What Kyle Rittenhouse Did That Infuriated Trump Supporters

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  August 02, 2024 3:00 PM

This post has been updated.

I didn't support his decision, but this is America; it’s a free country. It was a disappointing development, but other matters need attending, like winning the 2024 election. Kyle Rittenhouse garnered national attention for shooting three men in self-defense during the Kenosha riots in 2020. He later navigated through the conservative media sphere. When he said he would writing in Ron Paul instead of supporting Trump because of his record on gun rights. He took a beating after he initially came out against Trump (via NBC Montana): 

Rittenhouse claimed Trump’s record on gun rights shows he would compromise on Second Amendment issues. 

“Unfortunately, Donald Trump had bad advisors making him bad on the Second Amendment, and that is my issue,” he argued. “If you cannot be completely uncompromisable on the Second Amendment, I will not vote for you, and I will write somebody else in.” 

The Trump administration banned bump stocks, which enable semi-automatic guns to mimic the fire rate of machine guns, in a regulation later found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The former president also signed the Fix NICS Act, which increases accountability for states that don’t upload certain records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. 

Rittenhouse pledged to write in former Rep. Ron Paul, a Texas conservative who has supported improving public safety by increasing the number of guns in communities.

Seriously, kid? Republicans have bigger fish to fry as they deal with a re-shifted race less than 16 weeks from Election Day, thanks to Joe Biden quitting on July 21. Yet, not supporting Trump over Second Amendment issues is peculiar. It was an obtuse position. You can disagree with Trump for pushing a bump stock ban, but Kamala Harris wants to confiscate guns entirely. Rittenhouse got dragged for being disloyal to the movement. He's now back in the fold, but that was brutal.

UPDATE: He changed his mind.