Internet in Disbelief as Kyle Rittenhouse Makes Dramatic U-turn on Voting for Donald Trump

Following the shooting of two individuals and injury to a third, at a demonstration against police brutality in August 2020, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, conservative activist, Kyle Rittenhouse, gained notoriety. He was accused of several charges, including murder, carrying a hazardous weapon, and carelessly putting others' safety in jeopardy. Rittenhouse argued self-defense and was found not guilty of all charges. Later, when he refused to vote for former president Donald Trump, MAGA supporters lost it. The then 17-year-old had received unrelenting support from Trump and MAGA during his infamous trial. After losing thousands of fans on X, he changed his mind in less than 12 hours. 

"Over the past 12 hours, I've had a series of productive conversations with members of Trump's team and I am confident he will be the strong ally gun owners need to defend our Second Amendment rights. My comments made last night were ill-informed and unproductive. I'm 100% behind Donald Trump and encourage every gun owner to join me in helping send him back to the White House," he wrote according to The US Sun.

However, MAGA supporters weren't quick to forgive him, so they slammed him on social media. An X user reminded, "I was harder on you than anyone, but I can't hold a grudge when a man apologizes. Just remember, when it was political poison to take your side, Trump and MAGA were there for you during your lowest point." Another Trump supporter wrote, "That was the wildest rollercoaster ride I've ever seen, and the funny thing is it didn't even last 12 hours. Hope you learned your lesson because you lost over 42,697 followers with that little announcement. Yikes." 

A user mocked, "Lost 100k followers and thought about it," while another praised, "Good move Kyle. I'm glad you listened to the feedback. I respect Ron Paul a lot and I think it's great that you are a supporter of his, but the best way forward to protect the Second Amendment is through Donald Trump. The alternative is worse than you can imagine." Others however remained skeptical. "Maybe you'll vote for him. Maybe you won't. You're either MAGA or you're not. If it took 12 hours to 'convince' you that Trump is the right guy, then I don't think you were ever MAGA. You haven't convinced me."

In a now-deleted tweet, Rittenhouse lent his support to Congressman Ron Paul. "Hi, I'm Kyle Rittenhouse, outreach director for Texas gun rights," he began the video. "A lot of people are upset that I said I would be writing in Ron Paul for president of the United States." Claiming that Paul would be more pro-gun than Trump, he pointed the finger at the Republican leader's 'bad advisors.' 

"That is true. I will be writing in Ron Paul. Unfortunately, Donald Trump had bad advisors making him bad on the Second Amendment...That is my issue. If you cannot be completely uncompromisable on the Second Amendment, I will not vote for you," he asserted. "I will write somebody else in. We need champions for the Second Amendment; otherwise, our rights will be eaten away and eroded each day." 

"I support my decision, and I have no takebacks," he concluded. Additionally, he posted a picture with Congressman Paul and penned, "There aren't many people in this world that I get excited to meet, but meeting @RonPaul was an incredible pleasure." However, after facing severe backlash from the Trump camp, Rittenhouse deleted both the video and the picture from X.