Donald Trump has appeared to blame gun violence in the US on exposure to violent video games and movies, saying that “maybe we need to put a ratings system for that”.
The US President was speaking during a meeting on school safety, which comes after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida last week.
17 people were killed in that attack and the aftermath has seen calls for greater gun control.
Trump said during the meeting: “I’m hearing more and more people saying the level of violence in video games is really shaping young people’s thoughts.”
“And then you go the further step, and that’s the movies. You see these movies, and they’re so violent. A kid is able to see the movie if sex isn’t involved, but killing is involved, and maybe we need to put a ratings system for that.”
Many have pointed out that the US do actually have rating systems for both movies and video games, provided by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board).
At meeting on school safety, President Trump says violence in video games and movies is responsible for shaping young people’s thoughts: “We have to do something about maybe what they’re seeing” https://t.co/VfXvVkwQmq pic.twitter.com/vbt2t0dhtm
— CNN (@CNN) February 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/krassenstein/status/966805802852823040
Recently, NME spoke to Thick Of It, Veep and Death Of Stalin creator Armando Iannucci, who said that he would never parody Trump because “any fictional version is never going to be as absurd as what is happening”.
“Trump is his own entertainer, really. He’s saying things to get a response and a reaction. He’s not expressing an argument, he’s expressing an act.”