Carson tries to clarify, Trump keeps deceiving

Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson is a gifted speaker, but when given a chance Monday to clarify the record on his latest derogatory statement about followers of Islam, he couldn't quite seem to get the job done.

Carson followed the GOP's boorish blowtorch Donald Trump into the political sewer by acknowledging that he also saw a video of American Muslims cheering the destruction of the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001. Trump had claimed Saturday at a political rally in Birmingham, Ala., that he had witnessed on television "thousands and thousands" of people cheering the greatest act of terrorism in American history — including a crowd of American Muslims in Jersey City, N.J. Asked to react to Trump's statement, Carson went with the flow of what he later called a "trick question."

But though he incorrectly recalled seeing American Muslims cheering in "newsreels," Carson was sensitive enough to add, "I think that was an inappropriate response. I don't know if on the basis of that you could say all Muslims are bad people — I really think that would be a stretch."

Many of Carson's fundamentalist supporters would argue he has been saying all the right things about the Islamic faith and the radicals who kill in its name. Others would counter that, at least in theory, it's also important that a candidate for the nation's highest office be accurate.

Obviously, Trump did not get that memo.

Carson isn't Trump. The retired neurosurgeon is a dedicated healer and a devout Christian. But it was Carson, not Trump, who previously said he wouldn't support a Muslim as president. During a September appearance on "Meet the Press," Carson said, "I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that."

Carson also insensitively referred to some Syrian refugees as "rabid dogs." Maybe he meant it in a good way.

Asked about his latest comments during a Monday meeting of the Review-Journal editorial board, Carson downplayed his comments. A review of the video of the exchange with a reporter shows an apparently distracted candidate who, unlike Trump, wasn't attempting to fire up a partisan crowd with a big lie.

"The reporter said do you remember, you know, people cheering. I said, yeah, I saw the things on television everybody else did," Carson recalled in the editorial board. "I'm not exactly sure what they're trying to make out of it.

"They were the ones who were asking the questions. Did I see it? I saw it. Did we go into great detail about where it was from? That's a trick question. They wanted to say, 'Carson says he saw a video that doesn't exist.' I mean, you know how they are. This is crazy."

Crazy certainly describes the presidential campaign. And there's certainly a difference between Trump and Carson.

But about the time he was giving that version of the exchange, his campaign's communications director was scrambling to clarify the inaccuracy.

"Dr. Carson does not stand by the statements that were reported today," communications director Doug Watts said in a statement. "He was hearing and thinking something differently at the time. He does, however, recall and had his mind 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."

Carson's camp set the record straight. Not so Trump, who on ABC's "This Week" Sunday assured host George Stephanopoulos, "It was on television. I saw it. ... I know they don't like to talk about it, but it was well-covered at the time. There were people over in New Jersey that were watching it, a heavy Arab population, that were cheering as the buildings came down. Not good."

Not true, either.

For those keeping score, there's a lesson here somewhere. Faced with the facts, Carson had the decency to correct.

And Trump?

He doubled down on his deception — and no doubt will hear the roar of the peanut-crunching crowd.

— John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Contact him at 702 383-0295, or jsmith@reviewjournal.com. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith