Kyle Rittenhouse Doubles Down on ‘Gay’ Comment

After sparking outrage on social media, Kyle Rittenhouse has doubled down on his “gay” comment—this time using it to refer to Vice President Kamala Harris and gun control activist David Hogg.

On June 1 Rittenhouse took to X, formerly Twitter, on June 1 to baselessly state that President Joe Biden “is gay.” When contacted for comment, Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz told Newsweek in an emailed statement: “Happy Pride, Kyle.”

Now Rittenhouse has thrown the same comment at the vice president and activist.

Hogg uploaded a photo of him and Harris speaking to each other on X, adding the caption: “Thank you for your work on gun safety @KamalaHarris @VP.”

Rittenhouse took the opportunity to share his thoughts on the post, simply writing, “Gay.”

Newsweek emailed Harris and contacted Hogg and Rittenhouse via X for comment on Wednesday.

The post sparked a wave of backlash from X users, with one person writing: “You are rude!”

“Projecting again, Kyle?” someone else questioned.

“You’re so jealous of him Kyle, you can’t even breathe,” a different person responded.

Another added: “Kyle isn’t able to come up with divisive content so this is his best shot at a paycheck since he can’t pass middle school.”

While Rittenhouse was roundly criticized for his post, he was also defended by some of his supporters.

“You so rock Kyle!” one person wrote, while another added: “[laugh crying emoji] another Kyle W [win]!”

Rittenhouse is no stranger to being divisive, as his previous post about Biden resulted in various responses, with many slamming the 21-year-old.

“When you have nothing of substance to say you post things like this,” one person said.

Another weighed in: “‘You’re gay’ is a very lame insult in 2024. That being said, Kyle Rittenhouse is not in a position to insult anyone.”

Fans of Rittenhouse used the opportunity to show their support, with one person mocking the outrage with their comment: “Kyle has successfully turned the word ‘gay’ back into an insult, and the Left is accepting it and trying to use it back at him.”

“Spoken like a true Patriot,” another chimed in.

Rittenhouse gained notoriety in August 2020 when, at the age of 17, he shot and killed two men—Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26—as well as injured then-26-year-old Paul Prediger, then known as Gaige Grosskreutz, at a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Rittenhouse said the three shootings, carried out with a semi-automatic AR-15-style firearm, were in self-defense. They took place at the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest held after Jacob Blake, a Black man, was left paralyzed from the waist down from being shot by a white police officer.

Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges in November 2021, including charges of first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, and two charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety. He later said he supported the BLM movement, adding that he was at the demonstration to “protect businesses and provide medical assistance.”

Over the past several months, Rittenhouse has released a book, promoted a body armor kit and related products, and made appearances on select college campuses on invitation from their respective Turning Point USA chapters.