Carson Says It’s ‘Time Really to Move On’ From Questions About His Biography

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said Sunday that he is receiving more scrutiny than others who have run for president, just days after media reports raised new questions about the inspiring personal narrative he has used to make millions of dollars and thrust himself to the front of the GOP race.

“There’s no question I’m getting special scrutiny,” Carson, a neurosurgeon and author who has topped several recent GOP primary polls, said during an interview on CBS. “There are a lot of people who are very threatened. They’re worried. There is no question about it.”

On Friday afternoon, Politico published a piece in which it called an anecdote from Carson’s biography — that he was offered and turned down a full-ride scholarship to West Point — a “fabrication.” The academy does not offer scholarships, instead extending all expenses paid to students it admits. Carson never applied for admission. By Friday evening, the Wall Street Journal had followed up with a piece that questioned other tales from Carson’s life story, which has been central to his appeal to GOP voters.

“It’s time to really move on,” Carson said. “It’s not time to spend every single day talking about something that happened 50 years ago.”

Carson has insisted that his West Point story is at worst exaggerated but largely accurate — that he met with top military officials who told him they could get him into the academy and that his tuition would be covered.

This article appeared in print on page 3 of the November 9th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.