Carson takes heat as questions swirl about GOP contender’s past
As he continues to rise in the polls, Ben Carson is coming under scrutiny for statements he made about his violent nature as a teenager.
On the trail, Carson recalls attempting to thrust a knife into a friend’s stomach.
“I had a large camping knife, and I tried to stab him in the abdomen,” Carson said. “Fortunately, under his clothing, he had a large metal belt buckle that it broke.”
Now, CNN is calling into question the authenticity of that story.
Carson, in turn, blames the media for lying.
“I think it’s pathetic, and basically, what the media does is they try to get you distracted with all of this stuff so that you don’t talk about the things that are important,” Carson said.
Friday afternoon, Politico reported Carson fabricated a story about being accepted and getting an offer for full-ride scholarship to West Point. The Carson campaign calls the article false.
Jim Gilbreath, a southern Colorado Carson supporter believes the claims won’t hold up.
“We’re talking about history, this is like 50 or 60 years ago,” Gilbreath said, “It really feels like this is another opportunity to take down a frontrunner. I don’t see any merit to this.”
But, Colorado College political professor Bob Loevy thinks this can come back to haunt Carson.
“Inventing your resume is a very bad thing for a presidential candidate to do,” Loevy said. “It speaks to a candidate’s character. Voters want to believe they’re voting for someone who’s honest. Pretending in the past you did things you actually didn’t do can really hurt a presidential candidacy.”
GOP frontrunner, Donald Trump is going after Carson on Twitter. Trump is in New York getting ready to host “Saturday Night Live” on Saturday night.
Gilbreath still backs his guy.
“Ben Carson is a man of integrity,” Gilbreath said. “He cares passionately about the American people, uniting America, healing America.”
The question now is whether Carson’s past will prove too much of a stain in his hopes for a presidential future.
