Donald Trump Jr. is calling for due process for the 17-year-old white male who fatally shot two Kenosha protesters and injured a third following the shooting of Jacob Blake by local police.
In an interview with “Extra,” Trump Jr. says Kyle Rittenhouse was just a 17-year-old who did “stupid things.”
“We’re waiting for due process. We’re not jumping to a conclusion,” Trump Jr. said. “If I put myself in Kyle Rittenhouse[‘s shoes], maybe I shouldn’t have been there. He’s a young kid. I don’t want young kids running around the streets with AR-15s. … Maybe I wouldn’t have put myself in that situation — who knows? We all do stupid things at 17.”
“It’s a little beyond stupid,” Rachel Lindsay, the show’s host, replied.
“Really stupid — fine,” Trump Jr. admitted. “But we all have to let due process play out and let due process take its course.”
Last month, the teenager was arrested and charged with multiple counts including first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, recklessly endangering safety and possession of a dangerous weapon. Videos of the shooting went viral overnight and Rittenhouse was allegedly seen on camera running with his rifle as he said, “I just killed someone,” over the phone.
Trump Jr.’s comments arrived just a little over a week after his father Donald Trump defended Rittenhouse’s actions. The president blamed the civil unrest in Kenosha on “left-wing political violence.”
“He was trying to get away from them, I guess … and he fell,” he said, citing videos from the protest where a group of people attacked Rittenhouse. “And then they very violently attacked him.”
Trump then claimed that the teen “probably would’ve been killed,” although he was armed with a semiautomatic rifle. “He was in very big trouble,” he said. “He probably would’ve been killed, but it’s under investigation.”