Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus criticized the media’s recent coverage of Ben Carson, whose past has been the subject of multiple in-depth pieces over the past week.
In an interview with “Today Show” host Matt Lauer, Priebus took exception at the media’s coverage, calling it a “crazy obsession” and a “vendetta” against the former pediatric neurosurgeon, who has shot to the top of the GOP primary polls recently.
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“I would imagine some questions are appropriate, but I do believe that this is a totally crazy obsession over incredible detail from 30 and 40 years ago,” Priebus told the host. “The fact is that we kind of wish the media would be just as obsessed with or half-obsessed with Hillary Clinton’s lies of many years.”
The comments come days after CNN and Politico published pieces digging into Carson’s past, including his stories of rage from his youth, as well as his claim that he received a scholarship from West Point. The RNC chair went on to contrast the coverage between the candidates on both sides, telling the host that Clinton is covered by many within the media “with a wink and a nod.”
“The difference is that the media does have an actual vendetta or at least an agenda against some of these candidates,” Priebus continued. “In regard to Hillary Clinton, the media sort of [covers it], but they cover it with a wink and a nod and, you know, ‘isn’t it horrible that she had to sit in a chair for 11 hours.’ I mean, that’s the tone of coverage for Hillary Clinton. It’s a tone of, ‘this is silly, let’s move on.'”
Priebus went on to reiterate his claim over the Carson questions from 30 to 40 years, adding that while they may be “interesting for a question, but not an obsession.”
“I think people need to move on to the next question. I’m not saying questions aren’t appropriate,” Priebus added. “I think you get to a place where all the questions have been asked.”
According to the latest RealClearPolitics average, Carson is currently polling second nationally, as well as in Iowa and New Hampshire. The former neurosurgeon also sits second in the Washington Examiner’s latest power rankings.
