Ben Carson struggled mightily through his speech Thursday to the Republican Jewish Coalition, an address which sounded like he was reading a briefing paper rather than a normal campaign speech. The candidate usually speaks without notes.
“I normally am a spontaneous speaker, but I want to make sure I get all my points in today,” Carson started off. “So I will actually be using a script. Might be the first time anybody’s seen me doing that. But I don’t want to miss any of the points that I really wanted to make.”
During his 30-minute address, the 2016 hopeful mispronounced the word “Hamas” multiple times and seemed to retell the history of U.S. and Israeli relations to a crowd that was already familiar with it.
“Any American president or candidate for president formulating policies toward Israel, will be well served to look back at what makes the relationship between Israel and United States so special and eternal. And if we examine history properly, it is easy to see that the special bond between these two nations existed well before either country existed as a country,” Carson said.
The famed neurosurgeon also at one point said that the Middle East is “one of the most complicated regions in the world,” adding “I mean, really complicated.”
Carson, who has been slipping in the polls recently and currently ranks fifth on the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings, was also the only candidate who spoke during the morning sessions to not take questions on stage from RJC executive director Matt Brooks or reporters after his address.
The speech comes on the heels of weeks of bad press after repeated stumbles on foreign policy matters, which Carson has attempted to improve on the wake of the terror attacks in Paris on Nov. 13.
Despite his efforts, which included a post-Thanksgiving trip to Jordan to meet with Syrian refugees, foreign policy remains a stumbling block for Carson.
The speech closed out the morning session, which also saw speeches from fellow leading GOP candidates Donald Trump, Sen. Marco Rubio, and Sen. Ted Cruz.
