Ben Carson has a different relationship to the truth than the rest of us. In Carson’s world, the biblical Joseph—not the ancient Egyptians—built the Pyramids. Thomas Jefferson single-handedly wrote the Constitution (don’t tell James Madison!). Carson has even falsely claimed that he was awarded a full scholarship to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Indeed, Carson’s entire public record is littered with fabrications and half-truths about his childhood, career and accomplishments.
In Carson’s world, fantasy beats fact, and lies always trump the truth. It’s no wonder that he’s emerged as one of Donald Trump’s most prominent surrogates and vocal supporters. Like Trump, Carson is a pathological liar who is more comfortable peddling conspiracy theories than facing the truth.
BEN CARSON FABRICATED DETAILS OF HIS PERSONAL STORY
Politico: Ben Carson “conceded that he never applied nor was granted admission to West Point…despite numerous public and written statements to the contrary over the last few decades.” “Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson on Friday conceded that he never applied nor was granted admission to West Point and attempted to recast his previous claims of a full scholarship to the military academy — despite numerous public and written statements to the contrary over the last few decades.” [Politico, 11/6/15]
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Politico: West Point had “no record of Carson applying, much less being extended admission.” “West Point has occupied a central place in Carson’s personal story for years. According to a tale told in his book, ‘Gifted Hands,’ the then-17 year old was introduced in 1969 to Gen. William Westmoreland, who had just ended his command of U.S. forces in Vietnam, and the two dined together. That meeting, according to Carson’s telling, was followed by the offer of a ‘full scholarship’ to the military academy. West Point, however, has no record of Carson applying, much less being extended admission.” [Politico, 11/6/15]
Ben Carson’s claim that he protected white students during rioting over the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. was not corroborated by his former classmates. “The day after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in 1968, Ben Carson’s black classmates unleashed their anger and grief on white students who were a minority at Detroit’s Southwestern High. Mr. Carson, then a junior with a key to a biology lab where he worked part time, told The Wall Street Journal last month that he protected a few white students from the attacks by hiding them there. It is a dramatic account of courage and kindness, and it couldn’t be confirmed in interviews with a half-dozen of Mr. Carson’s classmates and his high school physics teacher. The students all remembered the riot. None recalled hearing about white students hiding in the biology lab, and Mr. Carson couldn’t remember any names of those he sheltered.” [Wall Street Journal, 11/6/15]
Ben Carson’s claim that he was named “most honest” by a professor in a Yale class was not supported by contemporary evidence. “In his 1990 autobiography, ‘Gifted Hands,’ Mr. Carson writes of a Yale psychology professor who told Mr. Carson, then a junior, and the other students in the class—identified by Mr. Carson as Perceptions 301—that their final exam papers had ‘inadvertently burned,’ requiring all 150 students to retake it. The new exam, Mr. Carson recalled in the book, was much tougher. All the students but Mr. Carson walked out. ‘The professor came toward me. With her was a photographer for the Yale Daily News who paused and snapped my picture,’ Mr. Carson wrote. ‘“A hoax,” the teacher said. “We wanted to see who was the most honest student in the class.”‘ Mr. Carson wrote that the professor handed him a $10 bill. No photo identifying Mr. Carson as a student ever ran, according to the Yale Daily News archives, and no stories from that era mention a class called Perceptions 301. Yale Librarian Claryn Spies said Friday there was no psychology course by that name or class number during any of Mr. Carson’s years at Yale.” [Wall Street Journal, 11/6/15]
Ben Carson’s claim that he was held up by a gunman in a Popeye’s restaurant was not corroborated by police reports. “Last month, Mr. Carson said in a radio interview that, as a young doctor, he had a gun stuck in his ribs at a Popeye’s restaurant in Baltimore near Johns Hopkins University. ‘A guy comes in and puts a gun in my ribs. And I just said, ‘I believe that you want the guy behind the counter,’’ Mr. Carson said. ‘He said, “Oh, okay.”‘ The Baltimore Police Department later said it couldn’t find a report matching the incident Mr. Carson described.” [Wall Street Journal, 11/6/15]
CNN: Ben Carson’s “narrative of spiritual redemption” after committing “acts of violence as an angry young man” was “unrecognizable” to “friends, classmates and neighbors who grew up with Carson.” “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. […] But 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. That person is unrecognizable to those whom CNN interviewed, who knew him during those formative years. All of the people interviewed expressed surprise about the incidents Carson has described. No one challenged the stories directly. Some of those interviewed expressed skepticism, but noted that they could not know what had happened behind closed doors.” [CNN, 11/7/15]
BEN CARSON LIED ABOUT HIS BUSINESS TIES
Ben Carson claimed to not “have an involvement” with supplement marketing company Mannatech, Inc, despite appearing in videos promoting the company and giving paid speeches at Mannatech events. “In response to a question at a recent GOP presidential debate, Mr. Carson said he ‘didn’t have an involvement’ with Mannatech Inc., a multilevel marketing company that sells nutritional supplements, and called any suggestion to the contrary ‘propaganda.’ Mr. Carson, who has taken the company’s products, appeared in videos that could until recently be found on Mannatech’s website, including two filmed in 2013 and styled like commercials. Mr. Carson also has given four paid speeches at Mannatech gatherings; the proceeds from three went to a Carson-affiliated charity. Mannatech settled false-advertising charges with Texas in 2009.” [Wall Street Journal, 11/6/15]
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PolitiFact rated Ben Carson’s claim that he “didn’t have an involvement with” the nutritional supplement company Mannatech as “False.” “Carson said, ‘I didn’t have an involvement with’ the nutritional supplement company Mannatech. As far as we can tell, Carson was not a paid employee or official endorser of the product. However, his claim suggests he has no ties to Mannatech whatsoever. In reality, he got paid to deliver speeches to Mannatech and appeared in promotional videos, and he consistently delivered glowing reviews of the nutritional supplements. As a world-renowned surgeon, Carson’s opinion on health issues carries weight, and Mannatech has used Carson’s endorsement to its advantage. We rate Carson’s claim False.” [PolitiFact, 10/29/15]
BEN CARSON MADE FANCIFUL CLAIMS ABOUT BASIC HISTORY
Ben Carson claimed that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Constitution. “Of America’s founding fathers, Ben Carson is most moved by Thomas Jefferson, partly because of the way he ‘tried to craft our Constitution,’ the retired neurosurgeon said this weekend. In a Sunday interview on C-SPAN as part of its Road to the White House series, Carson said he was ‘impressed by a lot of them,’ referring to the founding fathers. ‘But I’m particularly impressed with Thomas Jefferson, who seemed to have very deep insight into the way that people would react and tried to craft our Constitution in a way that it would control people’s national tendencies and control the natural growth of the government,’ Carson said. The problem: Jefferson crafted the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution.” [Politico, 11/23/15]
Ben Carson claimed that the biblical Joseph constructed the Egyptian pyramids to store grain. “Republican White House hopeful Ben Carson believes the Egyptian pyramids were built to store grain and not as tombs for pharaohs. The retired neurosurgeon, who is among the front-runners in the Republican race to the White House, believes they were actually made by the biblical Joseph, son of Jacob. Dr Carson first made the remarks in an address at Andrews University in Michigan in 1998 and told CBS News this week: ‘It’s still my belief, yes.’ During his 1998 speech, Carson told graduates: ‘My own personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramids to store grain. ‘Now all the archaeologists think that they were made for the pharaohs’ graves. But, you know, it would have to be something awfully big if you stop and think about it. ‘And I don’t think it’d just disappear over the course of time to store that much grain.’” [Telegraph, 11/5/15]