Anderson Cooper Calls Out Oliver North’s ‘Glaring Hypocrisy’ For Blaming Shootings On ‘Culture Of Violence’

Anderson Cooper Calls Out Oliver North’s ‘Glaring Hypocrisy’ For Blaming Shootings On ‘Culture Of Violence’

Over the weekend, incoming NRA president and one-time arms dealer Oliver North insisted that guns weren’t the problem when it came to mass school shootings. Nope, the real issue was a “culture of violence” among young males, along with them being hooked on Ritalin.

During his ‘Keeping Them Honest’ segment Tuesday night, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper called out North as a hypocrite over the former Fox News commentator’s remarks, noting that while North was railing against America’s violent culture he had contributed to a first-person shooter video game.

“He mentioned TV and movies but he didn’t mention the usual suspect, which is video games,” Cooper stated after highlighting North’s comments. “Both Republicans and Democrats have at times wondered if the video games are having some effect on young minds. President Trump brought it up after Parkland, so why do you think Oliver North made no mention of video games?”

The CNN anchor then played a clip of North promoting Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, a game he worked on as a consultant and featured a fictionalized version of him.

“Now you can debate what effect, if any, video games have on kids,” Cooper stated. “Maybe you believe it’s part of the problem or just harmless fun. We aren’t taking a position on either option.”

He concluded, “But we do think it’s entirely fair to point out the glaring hypocrisy of Mr. North. A paid consultant, pitchman, and character in a video game, probably doesn’t have that much authority to be lamenting the culture of violence boys are exposed to, or at the very least, if he is concerned, he might want to admit he profited from that violence.”

Watch the clip above, via CNN.

Justin Baragona

Justin Baragona is the founder/publisher of Contemptor and a contributor to The Daily Beast. He was previously the Cable News Correspondent for Mediaite and prior to starting Contemptor, he worked on the editorial staff of PoliticusUSA. During that time, he had his work quoted by USA Today and BBC News, among others. Justin began his published career as a political writer for 411Mania. He resides in St. Louis, MO with his wife and pets.

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