Trump Defends Carson Scrutiny: ‘They’re Really Using What He Said’

“Ben Carson admits fabricating West Point scholarship” was last Friday’s headline in Politico, which sometimes seems to act as if it were the Internet media arm of the Democratic National Committee.

According to the Politico article on Carson, Carson’s repeated claims that he was offered a full scholarship to the prestigious military academy West Point after meeting with General William Westmoreland Carson was false.

Trump’s comments, which suggest Carson continues to be burdened with a serious psychological problem, appeared created to plant questions about Carson’s fitness for office.

“The fact of the matter is, we should vet all candidates”.

At least with the following caveat: Carson is being treated unfairly when news sites like Politico use loaded words like “fabricated” to describe his telling of the West Point story and he is right to object.

Asked if he thought Carson was “mentally off”, Trump said, “I hope not”.

Last month, police in Baltimore said they didn’t have enough information to verify Carson’s account of being held at gunpoint more than 30 years ago at a fast-food restaurant in the city. “Politico”, Trump said, referring to reporting that has focused on Carson’s 1990 autobiography, “Gifted Hands”, and on statements Carson has made in public forums over the course of a long medical career. Carson never officially applied to West Point, but rather acknowledged the informal offer from staff and knew West Point wasn’t something that aligned with his already set goals. They have been talking to everyone I have ever known and everybody I have ever seen. Carson later became a leading voice in an unsuccessful effort by the Republican candidates to establish different ground rules for subsequent debates.

Carson’s reference to Clinton’s handling of the Benghazi attack drew loud applause from the audience.

In an unsigned editorial today the Wall Street Journal correctly observes that Carson’s real problem is not murky remembrances but murky policy positions, and recommends he sharpen his policy points.

Trump: Taxes too high, wages too high, we’re not going to be able to compete against the world…People have to go out, they have to work really hard and have to get into that upper stratum.

“We are a country that is being beaten on every economic front”, Trump said.

The story created a firestorm in the political media, and Carson’s camp was aggressive in its attempts to put out the flames.