Ben Carson Wants The Media To Stop Fact-Checking His Life Story

On Sunday, Dr. Ben Carson, renowned neurosurgeon and 2016 Republican presidential candidate, fired back at claims that some facts from his autobiography Gifted Hands are downright false. "There's no question I'm getting special scrutiny," Carson said in an interview on CBS' Face the Nation. "They've seen the recent head-to-head polling against Hillary [Clinton] and how well I do. And, you know, they're worried. There is no question about it." The increase in scrutiny stems from a story on Politico published this past Friday. The site reported that Carson lied about receiving a "full scholarship" to West Point. Just days before the Politico report, CNN and several media outlets questioned other key parts of Carson's autobiography when they could not verify certain events or people mentioned in the book. One such episode involved Carson's attempt to stab a classmate when he was a young boy, which he recounted in his book and in countless interviews. Throughout the weekend, Carson has come to his own defense, saying the media is probing his past because "a lot of people are very threatened" by his candidacy. "For people that try to take this and twist it and make it seem like something dishonest, that seems like dishonesty itself," Carson said on Sunday. He attempted to clarify the West Point story, saying, "I said it was offered. I didn't say I received it." However, Politico reported that according to West Point, Carson had never even been accepted. Carson also refuted a report from the Wall Street Journal. According to the WSJ, when it asked Yale about a psychology class mentioned in Carson's book, the university said the course was never offered. Carson even went on Facebook to refute the story. "Allow me also to do the research for the Wall Street Journal reporter. Here is a syllabus for the class you claim never existed. Still waiting on the apology," he wrote. However, according to CBS, the link he provided goes to a page for the course Psychology 323b, which was offered at Yale in Spring 2002. Carson claimed to take Perceptions 301 while he attended Yale in the early 1970s. For his part, former Republican front-runner Donald Trump spoke to CBS' Face The Nation about the charges. "I hope it works out well for Ben, I am not looking to see anything bad happen to him. I have gotten to know him and like him. But...they're tough stories," Trump said. "I just don't know what to think." Other GOP candidates, like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, have also spoken on the controversy. "We put our personal story out there. We tell folks our history, that’s part of our candidacy,” Christie said, according to BuzzFeed. “We have to be able to back that up.” Caron's incredible story is part of his appeal and its inspiration endeared him to conservatives, along with some of his outrageous claims and non-traditional beliefs. The latest being that the pyramids were really built to store grain — immediately sparking countless internet memes. Despite the memes and the fact-checking, Carson's move to criticize the media, like countless politicians over the years, serves as the chance to weave the scrutiny into his narrative.