Kyle Rittenhouse's mother on Thursday night accused Joe Biden of painting her son as a white supremacist a year ago in a cynical bid to win the presidential election, but said she was confident that the judge in the case had ensured a fair trial.
Wendy Rittenhouse spoke hours after the defense rested its case in the high-profile trial.
Her 18-year-old son is charged with murdering two people and wounding a third during the rioting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the shooting of Jacob Blake by police.
His lawyers insist Rittenhouse was acting in self defense, and on Monday both sides will sum up their arguments before the jury retires for deliberations.
Wendy, a mother of three, told Fox News' Sean Hannity that she was still angry with Biden for his labeling her son a white supremacist last year.
Wendy Rittenhouse on Thursday night was asked about Joe Biden's 2020 tweet labelling her son a white supremacist
Biden shared a video clip on Twitter denouncing white supremacists that including a photo of Rittenhouse wielding a gun
Biden's campaign team included footage of Rittenhouse alongside neo-Nazis parading the streets, in a bid to undermine support for his rival, Donald Trump.
During a presidential debate, Trump refused to condemn the Proud Boys, and in response Biden tweeted a still of the campaign video - showing Rittenhouse - with the caption: 'There's no other way to put it: the President of the United States refused to disavow white supremacists on the debate stage last night.'
Wendy told Hannity: 'When I saw that, I wasn't shocked. I was angry.
'President Biden don't know my son whatsoever.
'He's not a white supremacist, he's not a racist.
'He did that for the votes and for a while I was so angry at him.
'And what he did for my son - he defamed him.'
But she said she was optimistic the jury would come to the right decision.
'The judge is very fair,' she said.
'People that I talk to who lived in Kenosha all their lives say Judge Schroeder is a very fair judge, and he does not allow no nonsense in his courtroom.'
Rittenhouse, 18, is seen on Thursday morning before the case began for the day
Rittenhouse was 17 when he took to the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin in August 2020 - too young to legally carry a rifle
Judge Bruce Schroeder (pictured) is known for his stern demeanor and tough sentences
Wendy Rittenhouse told Hannity of her horror at seeing the scenes in Kenosha on August 25, 2020, saying she feared for her son's life
The case, which began on November 2, has been noted for clashes between Judge Bruce Schroeder - at 75, the longest-serving circuit court judge in the state - and Thomas Binger, prosecuting.
In pre-trial hearings Schroeder disappointed Binger by preventing him from introducing information to the court, such as Rittenhouse's prior remarks about wanting to shoot someone with his AR-15, and refused to allow Binger to refer to the people Rittenhouse shot as victims.
Kyle Rittenhouse, at 17, was not legally allowed to carry a gun in Wisconsin
Wendy said she felt the jury was taking it seriously.
'They do,' she told Hannity.
'With a jury, they have been keeping a close eye on every evidence, every testimony, and they are paying good attention to what was said. That's the truth.'
She admitted that sitting in the courtroom every day has been harrowing, and broke down in tears when she described watching the video of the violent unrest in Kenosha.
'I was scared, I was frightened,' she said.
'I thought my son was going to die that night.
'When I look at the video with that guy pointing a gun to my son's head I thought he was going to die. This guy just pointed a gun at his head.
'And it took a long time to... just to grasp that he was alive.
'And knowing that he is with me, I'm grateful and I'm relieved that he's OK.
'But he has a lot of healing to do.
'He does have nightmares from this.'
Rittenhouse himself sobbed on the stand on Wednesday.
'I just broke down with Kyle crying like that,' she said.
'It made me feel heartbroken, sad, and I wanted to just go up there and hug him and tell him it would be OK.'
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