President Trump declined to condemn the actions of a teenager accused of killing two people during a protest of police brutality last week, saying instead that Kyle Rittenhouse could have been killed by an angry mob.
The White House press secretary had earlier said Trump was staying out of the controversy amid a fresh round of nationwide demonstrations after Jacob Blake was shot in the back seven times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
But during a news conference on Monday, Trump was asked whether he would condemn the actions of vigilantes such as Rittenhouse.
The president said the incident was being investigated.
“He was trying to get away from them, I guess, it looks like,” he said. “And he fell, and then, they very violently attacked him.”
Rittenhouse has been charged with intentional homicide and reckless homicide. His lawyers say he was acting in self-defense.
Trump added: “I guess he was in very big trouble. He probably would have been killed. It’s under investigation.
