Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson says black Americans will soon realize something ahead of the 2016 election: The media has manipulated them.
In a podcast interview with conservative commentator Mike Gallagher, Carson also went so far as to blame politicians for that manipulation.
“American blacks over the course of this next year will begin to see that they’ve been manipulated, very, very largely, and people telling them what they’re supposed to think and what they’re supposed to say,” the retired pediatric neurosurgeon said Tuesday.
When asked about a YouGov poll that showed 74 percent of blacks surveyed found his recent comments about having a Muslim in the White House were unfair, he responded: “More and more, I’m finding, [that they] are thinking for themselves and are recognizing what really works for them and for their communities, And so, I believe that is a dynamic that is in the process of changing.”
He also took a stance against the political biases held by the political media as a whole.
“I long for the day when the media begins to understand that the reason that they’re the only business protected by the Constitution is because it was intended that they were on the side of the people,” he said about the media having Republican or Democratic biases. “You would be able to trust them.”
Carson, who is the only African-American candidate on either side, also answered a question how he would address race relations should he be in the Oval Office next year.
“I think it’s a very big priority because one of the major things that is threatening our nation right now is divisiveness on all levels: gender, race, income, age, religion, they’re driving wedges between the people,” Carson replied.
Carson had never held public office, however, he remains in second place in a RealClearPolitics average of polls at 17 percent. He’s also third in the Washington Examiner‘s power rankings list of the 15 GOP candidates.
The leader, businessman Donald Trump, has approximately 23 points.
(h/t Newsmax)
