In an appearance on CNN’s New Day, Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson called a CNN report into his past a “bunch of lies.”
Carson was asked by New Day co-host Alisyn Camerota about the CNN report, which included interviews with people who grew up with Carson and did not remember any incidents of violence, which Carson has discussed in interviews and in his books. “This is a bunch of lies attempting to say I’m lying about my history, I think it’s pathetic, and basically what the media does is they try to get you distracted,” Carson said.
UPDATE: Not long after the CNN interview, Carson’s campaign came clean about another story about his past, in which Carson says he applied to West Point and was accepted, even receiving a “full scholarship.” The campaign told Politico:
“Dr. Carson was the top ROTC student in the City of Detroit. In that role he was invited to meet General Westmoreland. He believes it was at a banquet. He can’t remember with specificity their brief conversation but it centered around Dr. Carson’s performance as ROTC City Executive Officer. He was introduced to folks from West Point by his ROTC Supervisors. They told him they could help him get an appointment based on his grades and performance in ROTC. He considered it but in the end did not seek admission.”