President Trump brought his youngest son into the school shooting debate again, when a Republican lawmaker suggested violent entertainment is part of the problem.
‘The video games, the movies, the internet stuff is so violent, it’s so incredible. I see it. I get to see things that you’d be amazed at,’ Trump told a bipartisan group from Congress at the White House Wednesday. ‘I have a young, very young son, and I look at some of the things he’s watching and I say, “how is that possible?” And this is what kids are watching.’
The president, who entertained a wide variety of suggestions on how to prevent mass school shootings in the United States, said that violent content was ‘maybe’ something that should be looked at.
President Trump hosted lawmakers from both parties at the White House Wednesday to discuss how to prevent future school shootings, and the topic of violent movies, video games and online content came up
President Trump (right) brought up his son Barron (left) in a meeting with lawmakers about preventing future school shootings, saying that maybe rating violent content could play a role, saying that some of the stuff the 11-year-old watches ‘you’d be amazed at’
‘I have a young, very young son, and I look at some of the things he’s watching and I say, “how is that possible?” President Trump (center) said about his youngest son Barron (left), as he listened to Rep. Marsha Blackburn air out concerns about violent video games and movies
The suggestion was brought up by Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican who is running for the U.S. Senate, vying for retiring Sen. Bob Corker’s seat.
Blackburn floated that violent imagery could be especially detrimental to children with mental health issues.
‘I think that’s a really important point,’ Trump answered.
‘You rate movies for different things, maybe you have to also rate them for terror, for what they’re doing, for what they’re all about,’ the president continued.
‘It’s hard to believe that, at least for a percentage of children, maybe it’s a small percentage, that this doesn’t have a negative impact on their thought process,’ Trump added. ‘These things are really violent.’
Wednesday marked the second time in a week that President Trump brought his youngest son up in the context of preventing future school shootings.
On Thursday, Trump mentioned the 11-year-old when he expressed disgust at the idea of sending kids through active-shooter drills, a commonplace occurrence at schools all around the U.S.
‘But active shooter drills is a very negative thing, I’ll be honest with you,’ Trump said. ‘I wouldn’t want to tell my son that you’re going to participate in an active shooter drill. And I know some of them actually call it that.’
‘I think it’s crazy, I think it’s very bad,’ the president added.