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Biden: Violent video games ‘not healthy’ but aren’t ‘in and of itself why we have this carnage’

Former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday said that violent video games are unhealthy, but would not point at them as the reason for mass shootings after President Trump named the games as a factor behind such incidents.

“It is not healthy to have these games teaching the kids the dispassionate notion that you can shoot somebody and just, you know, sort of blow their brains out,” Biden, the 2020 Democratic presidential front-runner, said in an interview with CNN. “But it’s not in and of itself the reason why we have this carnage on our streets.”

{mosads}The comments follow two mass shootings that rocked the nation over the weekend, leaving more than 30 people dead and dozens injured.

In comments on the incidents that took place in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, President Trump said video games were part of the problem with violence. 

The president said that “gruesome and grisly video games” make it easy for “troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence,” while also condemning hatred and white supremacy.

The video game industry has pushed back on his comments, noting in a statement that video games are popular in a number of countries that have lower levels of gun violence than the U.S. Studies have not shown a link between violence and video games, according to The Associated Press

Biden has consistently led the field of more than two dozen people vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. A RealClearPolitics average of polls shows the former vice president with a more than 15-point lead over his closest opponent.

Tags 2020 Democratic primary 2020 election Donald Trump gun violence Joe Biden Mass shootings Video games

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