He's very obviously just virtue signaling to the MAGA crowd.
And why would that work with the MAGA crowd? Is it because they believe "you can kill people to protect property, you cannot damage property to protect people"?
If you attack someone with a gun in the US, there's a pretty high chance they'll shoot at you.
And if you believe there's a pretty high chance someone with a gun is going to shoot you, it's legal for you to attack them in self defense. Arguably neither Rittenhouse nor the person who attacked him broke the law.
I am not saying he should have been found guilty based on existing laws. I'm saying it's really fucked up that he went somewhere he had no good reason to be, with a gun, with a stated intention of using that gun to protect property that wasn't even his, and not only was there no consequence for it he was actually rewarded and celebrated for doing so.
Whatever his "real" reason for going there, regardless of the actions of other people, the simple fact is Rittenhouse's presence directly resulted in deaths that would not have occurred had he stayed home.
The fact that so many people think that is perfectly fine is fucked up.