Ben Carson on Friday demanded a female reporter’s microphone be shut off after she asked him if he is claiming Donald Trump’s accusers are lying about his alleged sexual abuse.
“That’s your characterization because you need to characterize it that way to try to make me the bad guy,” Carson said on MSNBC after being asked by reporter Katty Kay whether his description of the alleged incidents was meant to suggest the women were lying.
“Stop, stop, stop. Stop. Hey, can you turn her microphone off, please?” said Carson to Kay while waving his finger in the air. “Turn her microphone off so I can talk.” The request was denied.
“It’s a simple question. Yes or no?” host Joe Scarborough said. “Do you believe these women are lying or not? Nobody is trying to paint you as a bad guy. We just want an answer, straight talk.”
“It doesn’t matter whether they’re lying or not,” Carson said, to which Kay said “Of course it matters.”
“Listen, it doesn’t matter whether they’re lying or not. What matters is that the train is going off the cliff. We’re taking our eye off of that and getting involved in other issues that can be taken care of later,” said Carson.
Kay continued to press Carson on the issue, to which he responded “Listen, will you listen for a moment? Do you guys have a plug please?”
“I love the fact that all of a sudden you want to talk about morality in our country,” he added. “I would love us to bring back our Judeo-Christian values and begin to teach those things and emphasize them at a time other than a political election. Let’s do that. But right now, the train is going off the cliff.”
Katty Kay tweeted after the heated exchange she isn’t sure if “ordering the silence of a woman” is the best way to appeal to female voters.
I’m not sure that ordering the silence of a woman is a great way to win back women voters who are fleeing Trump. Just a suggestion. https://t.co/CCT5RSHIyd
— Katty Kay (@KattyKayBBC) October 14, 2016
