Carson campaign backtracks on 9/11 comments
Ben Carson (John Locher, AP)
Ben Carson said Monday that he saw a film of Muslim Americans in New Jersey cheering on the fall of the World Trade Center on 9/11.
And then his campaign stepped in to say that no, he did not.
The comments were reported by ABC News’ Katherine Faulders. On Monday afternoon, Faulders tweeted:
— Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) November 23, 2015
Nearly four hours later, she followed up:
Carson camp says he doesn’t stand behind comments apologizes.Was thinking of Middle East, not New Jersey,camp says Carson camp says he doesn’t stand behind comments apologizes.Was thinking of Middle East, not New Jersey,camp says Carson camp says he doesn’t stand behind comments apologizes.Was thinking of Middle East, not New Jersey,camp says https://t.co/JVHh7VAYvt
— Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) November 23, 2015
The full statement provided to ABC News:
Dr. Carson does not stand by the statements that were reported today. He was hearing and thinking something differently at the the time. He does, however, recall and had his mind focused on the celebrations in the Middle East. He is not suggesting that American Muslims were in New Jersey celebrating the fall of the twin towers.
Of course, Carson isn’t the only GOP candidate making claims about the New Jersey Muslim community’s reaction to the 9/11 attacks. His comments came after Donald Trump said essentially the same thing this weekend. And for his part, Trump hasn’t backed down.