Kyle Rittenhouse On What It Was Like Meeting Trump, Dating, & More With Chase Geiser On One American Podcast
Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty by a jury, but is now being added as a defendant in a civil lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The lawsuit is an attack against Kyle for being acquitted of all charges arising from his justifiable use of deadly force to defend his own life.
It also seeks to degrade the protections afforded under the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and our right to self-defense. Kyle needs our help to fight this politically motivated attack from the Democrat political machine and anti-Second Amendment groups.
Please support Kyle here: https://www.givesendgo.com/KyleRittenhouse.
It's One American Podcast Live with Kyle Rittenhouse.
Kyle, it is an honor and a pleasure to have you, man.
How are you?
I'm doing very good, Chase.
Thank you for having me on.
So you're welcome and you're welcome anytime.
So are you just like totally sick of doing this shit?
The answer can be yes.
It's okay.
Soon has become like my de facto career in a way because I can't really do much.
I can't go out and get a job.
So I think the best thing I can do is tell my story and try to advocate for the Second Amendment and the First Amendment and talk about censorship and other issues that I believe in.
Yeah, absolutely.
So are you going to school right now or are you taking a break from that?
I'm on a gap special right now.
Okay, cool.
Cool.
And you moved to Texas, the last sort of bastion of freedom in the United States other than maybe Florida and Tennessee.
Yeah, right?
Do you like it here in Texas?
You know, it's all right, but I think Texas is becoming a little woke because I was supposed to have a speaking engagement here in Texas at Southern Star Brewery, but they decided to go ahead and cancel this event.
We're not rescheduled at the Lone Star Convention Center, but Southern Star Brewery bent to the woke mob and said they were being apolitical when they've hosted pride rallies and a bunch of other political events.
Yeah.
So what happened with that?
You hadn't booked and then they got a bunch of backlash from their customers.
And so they just sort of bent the knee.
I don't even think they got backlash from their customers because Conroe is just about just as red as it gets in Texas.
And like, I just think they were just like, no, we're not going to do this because we don't believe in our own views.
They couldn't put their bias aside.
And, you know, it sucks, but what can I do about it?
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, you should apply for a job as a bartender there, see if they hire you just to mess with them.
That'd be hilarious.
So tell me what's going on with this, like the civil suit, right?
Obviously, you were acquitted in the criminal suit.
And I remember the day that you were acquitted, I was at my house watching the trial, and I had an AC guy doing some repairs here.
And I was so excited when the not guilty was read that I gave like 50 rounds of nine millimeter as a tip to the AC guy.
I was like, here you go.
Kyle Rittenhouse is acquitted, like not guilty.
I was so excited.
The guy was like, yeah.
So it was like this moment that I don't think I'll ever forget where I gave the stranger a bunch of ammunition.
With the civil suit, what's going on with that is I can't really talk about much about that now because we just got to a part to where we're looking at motion to dismiss and for counsel advice.
They don't want me talking about it at all.
Sure.
Just that we're hoping it gets dismissed, but there's a potential for it to be going to trial in the next couple months.
So I see.
I see.
I totally understand.
Was this something that you like saw coming like amidst the criminal suit?
Like, hey, no matter what happens in this criminal suit, there's definitely going to be a civil suit and it's going to be a pain in the ass for forever.
Like, was that sort of what your team was telling you?
Yeah, I knew that I was probably going to be facing a lawsuit and that I'd be having to defend it in a courtroom again.
But yeah, it's stressful.
I did nothing wrong and I'll prove my innocence in a rural law again.
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, actually, to support me, you can go to www.givesendgo forward slash Kyle Rinhaus at GibSendGo.
Yeah.
And it's pinned on your Twitter profile too, which I think is at this is Kyle R. Pinned right at the top.
There's that link to the Give SendGo.
And I encourage all my listeners to check that out and pitch in what you can, whether it's $1, $5, $100, $1,000, whatever you can do to support Kyle.
I absolutely encourage that.
So, man, like it's difficult to interview someone like you because I've had people like Roger Stone on and Steve Bannon on as well.
And everyone's already asked the good questions.
It's like, how can I do an interview with Kyle that like Tucker hasn't already done?
Right.
And so I'm going to do my best to ask you questions that maybe others haven't asked.
And if they have, please forgive me.
But I guess I want to start with out of this entire experience, what is like the thing that you've walked away, like the lesson that you've walked away having learned?
My life can be taken at any moment.
So like a lot of people take their life for granted and stuff like that, but you never know what can happen.
And just to never like live in fear or like just, I'm trying to think of the word, but like do things you want to do because you may not be able to do it tomorrow.
Yeah.
Have you?
This is an interesting question that I had that hadn't occurred to me until I just heard your response.
Have you been more in fear for your life since this trial began or actually on that fateful night in Kenosha?
Oh, I mean, I've been a complete fear of my life on that faithful night in Kenosha, but I've had countless death threats.
I have somebody texting me saying they're going to come and murder me at my house, and they happen to live in the same town as me.
How'd they get your number?
Not like Twitter DMs.
I see.
I see.
It's like, hey, Kyle, I got your number.
Man.
So are you able to go out in public and go to a movie theater or go to a restaurant and do anything like that without getting hassled?
I don't go to movie theaters much.
Not a lot of good ones out.
Yeah.
But I can go out sometimes.
It's really hard.
My vehicle is completely blacked out.
You cannot see inside my vehicle at all.
So that really helps.
But it's difficult.
I get recognized like 100 times a day, what it feels like.
So most of the time I just stand.
Yeah.
Is it supportive a lot of the times or is it mostly antagonistic?
It's a mixture of both.
It's very supportive.
But then at times, like I was at American Fest and somebody screamed, you fucking murderer to me as I was walking down the street.
I'm like, okay, this is interesting.
There was a protest at SHA show.
So that was kind of scary.
Not about me necessarily, but I'm anti-gun people.
So that was.
So basically about you.
But I was just like, okay, this is very interesting.
They didn't see me, which I'm very thankful for, but I saw their big, their big bus.
And I'm just like, oh, wow.
Yeah.
Was there ever a moment in this process where you had like any self-doubt?
Like the night of what happened, where you're like, shit, did I do anything wrong?
Were you just like running it through your head?
Or the whole time you were just like, nope.
No, I knew I did nothing wrong.
I know I defended myself and I know I did what I had to do to survive.
And it's unfortunate that two people had to pass away, but they were going to kill me.
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely.
And I studied the footage carefully myself just because, you know, it was a natural case.
Everybody was really fascinated by it.
And it was very obvious to me from the get-go that you did the right thing.
Sorry that you had to have that experience.
So it's not an experience anybody should have to have.
But, you know, I walked away from it, not seeing any issue with any of the decisions that you made to protect your life.
So kudos to you and thank you for serving your community and facing such danger on behalf of the right side of history, in my opinion.
So what's so what's next for you?
You're just focusing on this, this, the civil suit, which we're not going to talk about, but what are your goals?
Where would you like to be 10 years down the road?
You know, 10 years down the road.
So right now I want to work on building my platform, building my social media.
And maybe I'm working on starting a podcast.
I didn't realize how much work it was and how much work goes into it.
I should have probably figured that out before I announced it.
Yeah, absolutely.
What's it going to be about?
Just first, Second Amendment type stuff?
Yeah, talking about First Amendment, Second Amendment, issues I believe in, and just maybe having some guests on doing like a Tim Pool, Joe Rogan type deal.
Yeah, that would be awesome.
Would you host it here in Texas?
What's that?
Would you host it here in Texas?
Maybe.
I don't know.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's open it up right next to the brewery.
Yeah, right.
Right across the street.
That's awesome.
So I'm curious to know, in light of the fact that you don't mention that you want to start a podcast, what sort of podcast do you listen to?
Are you a Tim Cast IRL fan?
Are you a Joe Rogan fan?
I listen to Tim Cast.
I listen to Joe Rogan on occasion.
The only time, this is bad.
The only time I really listen to podcasts is when there's an issue that I really want to know about.
Sure.
Or if I'm on a long road trip longer than about an hour and a half.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I'm the same way too.
I listen to podcasts very selectively.
Like Joe Rogan's probably the podcast I listen to the most, but it depends totally on the guest.
Like I don't listen to any of the MMA ones, for example, but the Louis C.K. one that just came out was great.
But yeah, I'm the same way.
And it's just hard because there's only 24 hours in the day.
So choosing what to listen to is a big deal.
Yep, absolutely.
Absolutely.
So, are you working on a book or anything?
I don't know.
Okay.
Okay.
We'll leave it.
We'll leave it at that.
That's cool.
So, I know at one point in time you wanted to, you were kind of thinking about being either a lawyer or a nurse.
Is that still in the books for you?
Or are you thinking that you're going to take a different route now?
I'm going to take a different route.
I'm probably going to go.
I want a fly plane.
So, I'll probably need my private pilot license and then commercial and see where it goes from there.
And then just work on my influencer career, if you would, just like podcasting and social media.
Do you still play Call of Duty?
I actually don't.
I don't play any video games anymore.
Like, I don't even have a game system.
I get a lot of messages.
I don't have a game system.
I mean, I play heyday on my phone.
Man, if you did a Call of Duty live stream podcast, I'm sure it would blow up.
Oh, that would be hilarious.
But no, I play Heyday and I play Clash of Clans on my phone.
Yeah, absolutely.
I heard, is it true that Call of Duty banned your name as a screen name or as a handle?
No, that was ESPN.
Because I do fantasy football.
Well, not anymore.
And I was on Target to win.
I had the best team and I was rejected to take first, second.
I lost and I was ticked off because there's like 30 bucks in it.
So, oh man.
Well, maybe, maybe next time, right?
Well, and the funny thing is, it was a group with just like a small group with some of my friends, and it was just like private.
Nobody could see any of the names.
And I just put my first name, last name, Kyle Redden House, and I got banned on that factor.
So, speaking of friends, what did you learn about friendship throughout this experience?
I mean, were there some people that you thought would be ride or die and that kind of fell off the map, and others that you didn't necessarily think were going to have your back that did?
Yeah, I mean, I would say I don't talk to really anybody before my uh um before the shooting in Kenosha.
Um, I have all new friends.
Um, it's just interesting.
Like, some of them are good people, but I just grown up and like split apart.
Like, I don't talk to anybody before I have a new friend group.
Um, my friend group is a little bit older of people.
Um, they usually have established careers or they have like they relatively relate to me.
Like, I'm friends with a lot of firefighters and law enforcement guys and people in that type of area.
Um, and a lot of conservative, a lot of conservative people.
I don't have any liberal friends anymore.
Sure, sure.
Did you find that this experience sort of forced you to grow up overnight?
Oh, absolutely.
Um, I was thrown into this world with no experience and just scared, honestly, and no idea what to do.
So, I had to figure it out real quick.
Yeah, and obviously, when anything like this happens, there's people that try to sort of exploit it right off the bat, right?
So, there's the people on the left in the media, they just really ran with it in the opposite direction.
And there were, of course, people on the right that were probably just trying to get a moment of your time constantly.
How did you navigate through who to trust and who not to trust?
Um, you know, sometimes it took some crashing and burning.
Yeah, no, what I've learned is I can only really trust like a few really close people.
Yeah, absolutely.
So, does it make it difficult for you to sort of make new friends and establish new relationships, given that you've you've been sort of turned on so many times in the past?
Yeah, yeah, it does.
I mean, I'm weary of a lot of new people.
Um, I'll go out to dinner with whoever, um, hang out, but it's just about who I trust, who I like let into my inner life, who I'll like go over to their house or have them come over to my house.
Like, nobody knows where I live besides maybe like two people.
Um, actually, that's not true, that's not true.
Some random person knocked on my door, and apparently, some people, my leasing agents where I live, told people where I live.
But great, that's wonderful.
So, I want to ask you, what was it like to meet President Trump?
It was fun, it was fun.
He's a cool guy.
Um, he gave me some advice.
He said, If the media isn't talking bad about you, if the media is talking bad about you, you're doing something right.
He gets scrutiny every day.
People attack him and say these slanderous things, but he just shrugs it off.
He just doesn't care what these people have to say.
And he just wants to do the right thing.
And he wants to protect our country and protect our constitution.
Yeah.
Was there anything different about meeting him in person than you expected?
Because the only Trump that I know is the one that I see behind the podium, you know, or giving a press conference or something like that.
Sorry, my phone's working.
On the podium, he's just, he's just that guy.
Like, he does the talking with the hand.
It's that's just his personality.
He doesn't change anything.
Wow.
So, where did you meet him?
Were you at Mar-a-Lago?
Yes, Mar-a-Lago.
Okay, cool.
Think you're thinking about moving there?
Oh, I wish that'd be awesome.
So, how much time did you get to spend with him?
We spent about an hour and a half, and then I had lunch with him, lunch, not with him, but at Mar-a-Lago.
Okay, very cool.
What'd you have?
I had a hamburger.
Was it good?
It was pretty good.
It was a pretty good burger.
Medium rare?
So I'm very, I'll eat my steak, medium, rare, but my burgers, they have to be like medium, medium well, just because it freaks me out if it has that texture on the inside with the ground beef.
Did you make Trump taste your burger or drink your drink before you would eat it?
No, no, I just checked.
You know, that'd be that would have been pretty funny.
Like, hey, I need you to take a sip of this water before, you know, obviously.
Yeah, no, I didn't do that.
So, what are you, what are you able to do for fun to kill time?
Like, obviously, you're so busy and you're always facing scrutiny, and everybody knows who you are, and now people are figuring out where you live.
What are you able to do to like enjoy life?
Um, I go on a lot of road trips, I drive back and forth in North Carolina with my girlfriend.
Um, her family lives out there, and we're actually going on another road trip end of the week.
Um, not gonna say where, but so nobody can plan out my route.
Sure, of course.
So, it was so funny when you messaged me.
You're like, Hey, sorry, I'm late.
I'm having trouble with my wife.
I was like, Oh shit, like Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi.
So, how'd you meet your girlfriend?
Uh, you know, it's actually a funny story.
So, um, she makes conservative TikToks and conservative Instagram stuff.
And I was like, Oh, she's really cute.
So, this is a while ago, like nine, ten months ago.
Um, I added her on Snapchat and Instagram, and then I texted her on my private social media because I have private social media and my Snapchat.
And I was like, Hey, do you know Kyle Ridden?
I was like, What are your thoughts on him?
And then I was like, Well, I'm him.
I was like, Do you want to go on a date?
Because I got invited to a movie premiere, so I invited her on a date to that movie premiere, and that was fun.
Which movie was it?
The 2000 meals at Mar-a-Lago.
Oh, cool!
That was your first date, dude!
Baller!
So, she was like in love after that, right?
Yeah, I mean, so her sister works for Turning Point USA, she's like extremely high up, so she like it, it was like cool to her, but she's just like, Okay, like I know Charlie, I know a lot of these people, so she's like in the world that that makes sense.
She fit in, yeah, that makes sense.
How long have you guys been seeing each other?
Um, nine months.
Wow, congratulations, man.
That's that's definitely beyond certain thresholds.
I couldn't make it past three months until I met my wife.
It seems like so.
Congratulations, man.
That's awesome.
What's it like dating in this environment?
Is it like impossible?
Yeah, it's it's hard.
Dating is hard in this environment.
Like a lot of Netflix and chill.
Um, it's hard to go out and like you want to plan something, but then you're just like, What about like security?
Like, what about this?
Just so much goes into it, and trying to find a friendly restaurant or a movies, like movie theaters are like giant fish bowls.
So, yeah, movie theater or going out to the mall, it's difficult.
Yeah, absolutely.
So, when is this whole trial thing supposed to be over, allegedly, for you?
Do you know?
Um, the judge can rule at any moment on the motion of dismiss, but he can also rule a date and then we could be ended up going to trial.
So, a jury may have to be presented with the evidence again.
And then, in a civil suit, it's preponderance of evidence, not beyond reasonable doubt, right?
So, there's a little, it's a little bit more difficult as a defendant.
Is that right?
Or am I wrong about that?
No, that's correct.
So, say, like, eight of the jury members think I'm guilty and like four of them don't.
It's, I can be found.
Liable in that sense.
Like, but if it's the opposite, eight don't find me liable, but four do.
That could be, it's, it's like that preponderous with evidence.
I see.
We're not going for eight.
We're going for 12 to find me innocent again.
Absolutely.
So where are you with?
Because there were rumors that there were going to be some suits against some of the major media outlets that called you a white supremacist erroneously, well beyond the scope.
So where are you with that?
We're working on them right now.
Nick Sandman's lawyer is also my lawyer, Todd McMurphy.
He is working on them.
There's a lot of stuff that goes into them that people don't realize.
Like we have to study anti-slap law.
We have to study where we can sue them, how we can sue them if we have to sue them in their state or at my state, where it was said.
Is it defamatory?
If it's not defamatory, and we get it like if they say we're, we owe them money because of the anti-the slap laws and that place.
So we just want to be careful and protect me in that best interest.
So we're taking our time doing the research, but they aren't coming.
One of the things I noticed on Twitter is I thought it was so amazing how many people thought that you shot black people.
I mean, look at the Discovery Channel.
Their book.
What's that one?
Not the Discovery Channel.
National Geographic book where the lady said I shot three black people written in the book.
I didn't know that.
They printed that?
They did print it.
I can't think of the book name right now, but wow.
Well, and they didn't like nobody printed anything negative about your assailants either.
Like Rosenbaum, right?
I mean, he died doing what he loved, chasing a minor.
Nobody would print that.
That like the criminal records, right?
Yeah, nobody would talk about the past of any of the people who passed away, but I can't really talk about that right now.
Okay, I understand.
Absolutely.
So obviously, you've got this trial next for you.
You're focusing on building your influencer career.
Where can people find you, follow you, and support you?
You can go to This Is Kyle R on Twitter and This is Kyle Riddenhouse on Instagram.
And those are my social medias.
This is Kyle R on Truth Social.
And yeah, you can go to www.givesendo.com forward slash Kyle Riddenhouse to help defend me, defend this civil lawsuit.
It's expensive.
I have an outstanding bill with them right now that I'm working on trying to pay.
And it's not going to be cheap to fund this lawsuit.
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, thank you so much for sharing your time with me this afternoon.
And if there's anything that I can do to help you, let me know.
And I'll certainly be popping over to Give Sengo to support your cause.
