Carson tries to move on from questions but GOP debate looms

Washington (CNN)Ben Carson has surged in South Carolina to pull just ahead of Donald Trump – a statistical dead heat – in the Republican presidential primary in the key early state, according to a new poll.

“Every single day, every other day or every week, you know, they’re going to come out with, “Well, you said this when you were 13, ‘ ” Carson said on CBS” “Face the Nation” Sunday. “Obviously, the Politico thing was a hit job, no question about that”, Carson stated in Puerto Rico.

In his book, “Gifted Hands”, Mr. Carson wrote about marching in a Memorial Day parade in 12th grade and being introduced afterward to Gen. Westmoreland.

Carson told NBC News: “Being vetted and what is going on with me…” I didn’t refuse the scholarship outright, but I let them know that a military career wasn’t where I saw myself going.

As more information emerged, Politico softened its story, but says it stands by its reporting.

Chatting with reporters after a political rally in Puerto Rico Sunday morning, Carson pushed back on the notion in that the scrutiny on his past is “getting under his skin” – still then started in to an furious & mocking critique of the media analysis this current week.

The media is probing into Ben Carson’s childhood stories and he’s not so happy about it.

In it, he tells of trying to stab a close friend when he was a teenager.

A report from CNN last week also explored several incidents central to Carson’s inspirational autobiography, which recounted Carson’s transformation into the mild-mannered, revered neurosurgeon from a youth with a temper that sometimes flared into violence. All expenses for students admitted to West Point are paid, in exchange for five years of Army service after graduation. Carson never applied for admission.

In a GOP debate last month, Carson said it was “absolutely absurd” to say he had a formal relationship with the medical supplement company Mannatech.

Carson got no sympathy Monday from a pair of Republicans who are trailing him in the presidential polls and said they had endured years of personal scrutiny as governors. He is featured in the firm’s videos, including one from past year in which he credits its supplements with helping people restore a healthy diet.

Speaking to ABC television, Carson rejected any suggestion that he might make changes in his campaign as a result of the swirling controversy.