Kyle Rittenhouse told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that, although he is trying to stay out of politics for the time being, he liked some of the policies espoused by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
Calling Yang “a good dude,” Rittenhouse said that he liked the Silicon Valley entrepreneur, but added, “I didn’t know much about politics. I was just a 17-year-old kid.”
In a previously unaired segment from his interview with Tucker Carlson, Kyle Rittenhouse reacts to portrayals of Gaige Grosskreutz as a hero, and reveals that he was part of the “Yang Gang.” pic.twitter.com/uzRmSe2Tfw
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) November 25, 2021
Carlson began the segment with a comment about Gaige Grosskreutz, who was one of the three men Rittenhouse shot in self-defense during an August, 2020 riot in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“Gaige Grosskreutz stuck a loaded gun in your face,” Carlson said, noting that Grosskreutz had not been charged with any crimes pursuant to his interaction with Rittenhouse.
“He — I told him I was going to the police and he pointed a gun at my head. And from what I remember — time slowed down — I just remember staring down the barrel of a pistol thinking I’m about to die,” Rittenhouse paused and took a deep breath before continuing.
“He hasn’t been charged with a single crime, and what’s really disturbing is that his DUI case was dropped right before my trial so my attorneys couldn’t ask him about it,” Rittenhouse continued, noting that the case had been officially closed just a week before the trial began.
Carlson went on to ask Rittenhouse whether he was surprised to see legacy media outlets painting Grosskreutz as “a hero.”
“I don’t see him as — In my opinion, there’s no winners in this case, there’s no heroes in this case. I defended myself, I was attacked,” Rittenhouse replied, adding, “I think it’s actually quite sickening how Mr. Huber and Mr. Grosskreutz are described as heroes when it’s on video that they attempted to murder me in the middle of the street.”
“So what’s the message you think the media are sending by describing them as heroes?” Carlson asked.
Rittenhouse said that the message he got was that “they’re saying you can go out and riot and attack anybody and you will have the support from the media and the politicians to do whatever you want and kill innocent people.”
Carlson pivoted to politics then, asking Rittenhouse whether he had had any interest in politics before the protests, the shootings and the subsequent trial.
“I’m going to get a lot of hate for this, but I was a pretty big Andrew Yang supporter before all this,” Rittenhouse said, prompting a loud laugh from Carlson.
“Were you really? You were part of the Yang Gang?” he asked. “I like Yang.”
“I was part of the Yang Gang. He’s a good dude,” Rittenhouse said.
“I wasn’t really into politics. I didn’t know much about Trump. I didn’t know much about Biden. I went to a Trump rally because Trump supports the police. He’s a businessman. That’s what I liked about Trump. I didn’t know much about politics. I was just a 17-year-old kid,” Rittenhouse added.
“But you liked Andrew Yang,” Carlson said again.
“I liked Andrew Yang,” Rittenhouse replied. “I liked his policy a little bit.”
“Yeah. Well, he’s a very smart, interesting guy,” Carlson said, asking Rittenhouse whether his experiences over the last year and throughout the trial had changed his politics.
“I don’t know,” Rittenhouse said. “I’ve been trying to stay out of politics completely, like, no matter what direction I’m gonna go, there’s going to be people that don’t support me no matter what. So I think it’s just in my best interest to avoid politics, because I’m not a political person. I’m just a person who was attacked and defended myself.”