After falling behind in several polls, Donald Trump is hitting Ben Carson.
With the GOP debate just a day away, Trump went after Carson for his “unusual stance” on abortion, which includes minimal exceptions for rape and incest. The real estate mogul added that Carson’s stance on the issue signals a “contradiction.”
“You look at different things having to do with Ben and there’s a lot of contradiction,” Trump told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Tuesday.
“Ben, he was pro-abortion not so long ago, as everybody has told me. I don’t know, personally, but that’s what I’m told,” said Trump, who tops the Washington Examiner‘s latest power rankings. “And all of a sudden he’s so hard on abortion under no circumstances, virtually, can there be exceptions.”
“And you say, ‘How can that happen where you’re [pro-abortion]’ … and all of the sudden, you can’t have exceptions,” Trump said. “That’s an unusual stance.”
While Carson’s history on the issue is not abundantly clear, Trump has indeed held a pro-choice stance in the past. In 1999, Trump called himself “very pro-choice,” adding that he is “in every respect.”
“I’m very pro-choice,” Trump told “Meet The Press” moderator Tim Russert at the time. “I hate the concept of abortion. I hate it. I hate everything it stands for. I cringe when I hear people debating the subject. But still, I just believe in choice … I am strongly for choice and yet, I hate the concept of abortion.”
“I am pro-choice in every respect,” Trump added when asked about partial-birth abortion.
For the first time since July, Trump does not top the GOP in every national poll, with the latest CBS/New York Times poll showing Carson opening up a four point advantage. Carson has also beaten Trump in several Iowa polls.
