‘The Epitome Of White Privilege’: The Media’s Worst Reactions To The Kyle Rittenhouse Trial

Kyle Rittenhouse represents “white privilege” and the triumph of vigilantism, according to the coverage of numerous legacy media outlets and personalities this week.

CNN posted an article stating that Kyle Rittenhouse “represents the epitome of [w]hite privilege in America run amok.”

A few sources appeared to attempt a preemptive conviction of Rittenhouse, whose trial resumes on Monday morning. CBS Mornings wrote on Twitter this Thursday that “Kyle Rittenhouse testified in his murder trial yesterday, breaking down in tears as he told the jury he murdered two men at a Black Lives Matter protest last year in self-defense.” Rittenhouse did not admit he committed murder; under oath, he testified that he did not intend to kill two men, but shot them in self-defense after their actions made him fear for his life.

bang up job, guys. pic.twitter.com/bhQVfYMcpZ

— tsar becket adams (@BecketAdams) November 11, 2021

Some implied that the trial’s outcome is a foregone conclusion — in part because of Judge Bruce Schroeder’s ringtone. During court proceedings on Wednesday, the judge’s cell phone went off and many believed that it played Lee Greenwood’s 1984 patriotic hit “God Bless the USA,” which was often played at rallies for former President Donald Trump.

“I don’t have a crystal ball, all right? What I know is the law, and what I know is what white people are willing to do to defend white supremacy,” Elie Mystal, Nation magazine’s “justice correspondent” and a frequent contributor to both CNN and MSNBC, told “Democracy Now!” host Amy Goodman. Mystal added that Judge Schroeder gave him “the impression of a biased, racist judge, with his Trump rally cellphone, that [sic] is trying to get Rittenhouse a walk.”

“I was able to say two weeks ago the boy was going to walk,” Mystal said of the 18-year-old young adult.

Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) predicts Rittenhouse will walk in part because the “biased, racist judge,” who has a “Trump rally cellphone” ring.

“What I know is the law, and I what I know is what white people are willing to do to defend white supremacy.” pic.twitter.com/fPrBKtXd1N

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) November 11, 2021

The ringtone echoed in the legacy media’s collective imagination. The Daily Beast tweeted, “The judge presiding over the Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial apparently forgot to silence his cellphone when the proceedings returned from lunch, revealing to the world that his ringtone is Lee Greenwood’s cheesy patriotic anthem ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’” In an article republished by Yahoo! News,