Kyle Rittenhouse Slams Pledge That Got Biggest Cheer from Tim Walz

Kyle Rittenhouse has slammed Vice President Kamala Harris‘ and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz‘s pledge to combat gun violence if they win the 2024 election.

With just over three months until the November election, Democrats look to build on Harris’ razor-thin lead over former President Donald Trump by choosing Walz as her running mate. Walz, now in his second term as governor, has gained recognition for his progressive policies while also maintaining an ability to appeal to both urban and rural voters.

Harris and Walz made their first campaign stop in Philadelphia on Tuesday after the official announcement was made earlier in the day. The vice president praised Walz’s work on gun reform and promised a ban on assault weapons—and Rittenhouse has expressed his disapproval.

Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for Rittenhouse for comment on Wednesday.

“Inflation is rampant, our border is NOT secure, and the economy is getting weaker — yet disarming the law abiding American is the top priority for Harris & Walz,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter, alongside a snippet of Harris’ speech Tuesday.

Despite Rittenhouse’s claim, Harris and Walz didn’t say they plan on disarming law-abiding Americans but tightening the laws around gun ownership.

“Tim is a hunter and a gun owner who believes, as the majority of gun owners do, that we need reasonable gun safety laws in America,” Harris said during the rally, to which the crowd loudly cheered and Walz fervently applauded.

“So as governor, he expanded background checks and increased penalties for illegal firearm sales. And together when we win in November we are finally going to pass universal background checks, red flag laws and an assault weapons ban.”

A red flag law is a civil procedure wherein individuals can ask a judge to issue an emergency order temporarily taking away a person’s guns if there is the potential that they could be a danger to themselves or others.

Harris added: “Through his work, Tim he, you know, the way I think about it, he really does shine a light on a brighter future that we can build together. In his state he has been a model chief executive and with his experience, I’m telling you, Tim Walz will be ready on day one.”

Walz joins Harris’ campaign at a time when Republicans appear to be focused on the U.S. Mexico border and Harris’ record on immigration, with Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance repeatedly calling out the so-called “Border Czar.”

As the Minnesota governor ran for reelection in 2022, he said immigration was part of his state’s economy and culture.

“Walk down the streets of Worthington, Willmar, Mankato, or St. Paul, and you see that it’s the fabric of our life,” Walz told the Sahan Journal.

Rittenhouse gained support from conservatives after he shot three people, two of them fatally, during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin in August 2020. The protests were prompted by the shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, by a white police officer. Blake was left paralyzed from the waist down.

Rittenhouse was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety. In November 2021, he was acquitted of all five charges in the deaths of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber after claiming self-defense. Paul Prediger, formerly known as Gaige Grosskreutz, was shot by Rittenhouse but survived.

Now 21, Rittenhouse has gone on to make several appearances at conservative events and media outlets and is an advocate for gun rights. In the same month that he was acquitted, he was invited to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate, and the former president has said that Rittenhouse “should have never been” charged.

In less than 24 hours since releasing a video statement to X about not voting for Trump over Second Amendment issues, Rittenhouse wrote in a new post Friday afternoon that his comments were “ill-informed” and that he encourages “every gun owner to join me in helping send” the former president back to the White House.

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