Sacha Baron Cohen's controversial new show Who Is America? airs tonight and already one of the biggest talking points of the premiere, is the fact that Cohen manages to get real Republican politicians to endorse a – thankfully – fake programme called 'Kinder Guardians', which would arm schoolchildren as young as three with guns.
The shocking moment comes when one of Cohen's characters Erran, an Israeli gun rights advocate, convinces several Republicans that the new regime will keep children safer if their school were to be targeted in an attack.
The Daily Beast reports that gun rights activists including Philip Van Cleave and Larry Platt were quick to endorse the idea, but it also received support from several members of Congress, including Rep. Joe Wilson and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.
Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott says in a preview clip from the show: "We in America would be wise to implement it", while former Congressman Joe Walsh says: "In less than a month, a first-grader can become a first grenader".
Many Twitter users who viewed the clip were shocked to see so many politicians getting behind the idea of arming young children, saying they were "flabbergasted" and "sickened".
'Kinder Guardians' supporters aren't the only people Cohen has tricked in the course of the series, as former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin recently lashed out at the comedian for "mocking those who have fought and served our country".
She said that Cohen had "disguised himself as a disabled US Veteran, fake wheelchair and all" and that she had given an interview to his character Dr. Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr. "out of respect", before becoming disgusted at the way the conversation was going and removing her mic.
Also in the first episode is Cohen pranking Bernie Sanders, as well as playing an artist trying to impress a real gallery owner with paintings – made of poop. Grim.
Cohen, the actor behind such divisive characters as Ali G and Borat, has been travelling the US for some time making his new Showtime series, speaking to a number of famous figures including former Vice President Dick Cheney.
Who is America? airs on Channel 4 at 10pm on Monday (July 16).
Reporter & Sub-Editor, Digital Spy Susannah is a freelance writer and sub-editor, specialising in the entertainment industry. She graduated in 2014, with a BA in English and American Literature and Creative Writing, and an MA in Creative Producing. She’s been writing for Digital Spy ever since, after first getting involved through work experience, and has written hundreds of stories for the site on a range of topics, from The Sims to Doctor Who. Susannah has also written for Reveal Magazine. Her special interests are soaps (her Mastermind subject would be 2000s Coronation Street), Marvel and Star Wars. She can also quote far too many lines from Friends and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
