The story of GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson’s violent youth and religious salvation has been well known ever since he published his autobiography in 1990. But a pair of CNN stories on Thursday raise questions about whether it’s true.
“At the core of his narrative of spiritual redemption are his acts of violence as an angry young man — stabbing, rock throwing, brick hurling and baseball bat beating — that preceded Carson’s sudden transformation into the composed figure who stands before voters today,” CNN reported. “In his 1990 autobiography, ‘Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story,’ Carson describes those acts as flowing from an uncontrollable ‘pathological temper,'” culminating in his attempt to stab a friend only to break the knife blade on a hidden belt buckle.
But there’s a problem. Carson’s stunning political rise has brought with it greater media scrutiny, and journalists haven’t been able to find a single person who remembers any of those events. What they found instead was “nine friends, classmates and neighbors who grew up with Carson told CNN they have no memory of the anger or violence the candidate has described. … All of the people interviewed expressed surprise about the incidents Carson has described.” Something’s fishy here.
When CNN contacted Carson’s campaign about it, his spokesman responded, “Why would anyone cooperate with your obvious witch hunt? No comment and moving on…… Happy Halloween!!!!!” and “declined repeated requests by CNN to provide details about the history of violence Carson has described, including the identities of his alleged victims … [and] documentation of any disciplinary actions that resulted.”
Then, on Thursday, after CNN published its story, Carson conceded the names of two purported victims who figure prominently in his book are “fictitious” — something he’s never said before in the 25 years since the book was published. And CNN noted, “In the chapters of Carson’s 1990 autobiography that detail the incidents involving Bob and Jerry, there’s no note or indication to alert the reader that [these] names were fictitious.”
Carson’s response to these revelations? “They are so desperate looking for a scandal it’s almost comical,” Carson said. “What they should be concentrated on is how are we going to solve the problems that we have. They can waste all of their time digging but they’re just not going to find anything.”
Well yeah, they’re digging and not finding anything that corroborates Carson’s tales about his allegedly violent youth.
Why would Carson make up unflattering stories about himself? Well, he certainly wouldn’t be the first person to confess to crimes he didn’t commit to get attention. But it’s more likely there’s method behind this. Portraying himself as a prodigal son who found salvation through religion is a powerful story that resonates with the evangelical voters who form the core of his support.
Why should we care if he’s fibbing about having a violent adolescence? The answer is this question: What else has he lied about? It’s about whether we can trust him.