Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy tried again Tuesday to trip up White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, only to wind up humiliated when Psaki brilliantly turned the tables on him.
Doocy began by noting that President Joe Biden had linked acquitted Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse to white supremacists in remarks he made during the 2020 campaign. He then asked Psaki:
“Will the president ever apologize to the acquitted Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse for suggesting online and on TV that he is a white supremacist.”
Psaki responded:
“This is about a campaign video released last year that used President Trump’s own words during a debate as he refused to condemn white supremacists and militia groups. And President Trump, as you know… didn’t just refuse to condemn militia groups on the debate stage, he actively encouraged them throughout his presidency.
So, you know, what we’ve seen are the tragic consequences of that. When people think it’s okay to take the law into their own hands instead of allowing law enforcement to do its job. And the president believes in condemning hatred, division, and violence. That’s exactly what was done in that video.”
But Doocy couldn’t resist digging the hole he was in even deeper:
“You’re saying that it was just a campaign video. It wasn’t. The president gave an interview that he said that Rittenhouse was part of a militia coming out of Illinois.
“None of this was not proven in trial and Kyle Rittenhouse is saying that the president had actual malice in defaming his character.”
Again, Psaki was prepared and swatted Doocy down:
“The president spoke to the verdict last week. He has obviously condemned the hatred and division and violence we’ve seen around the country by groups like the Proud Boys and groups that that individual has posed in photos with. But beyond that, I’ll leave it to his comments around the verdict.”
As a matter of fact, Rittenhouse posed with the Proud Boys in Wisconsin, as the The Washington Post reported back in January:
Shortly after pleading not guilty to murder and weapons charges earlier this month, Kyle Rittenhouse showed up at a bar in Mount Pleasant, Wis., clad in a T-shirt that said “Free as F—,” prosecutors said. Then the 18-year-old allegedly drank three beers, posed for photos with members of Proud Boys and flashed a “white power” hand sign.
Rittenhouse now says he supports the Black Lives Matter movement. But as the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words.
