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News Bulletin: Ben Carson has admits he’s been caught in a lie!
Oct. 29, 2015: Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks in Lakewood, Colo. (AP)
DEVELOPING: Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson has been forced to admit that part of central plank in his personal narrative — that the top U.S. general in the Vietnam War had guaranteed him admission and a scholarship to West Point — was fabricated.
In fact, West Point officials, responding to a report published Friday in POLITICO, confirmed that there is no record of Carson ever applying to the elite military academy, much less gaining entrance or a scholarship offer.
But in Carson’s 1996 memoir “Gifted Hands,” he tells a different story: that the young Carson, a 17-year-old top ROTC officer from Detroit, had dined with Gen. William Westmoreland, who was a fresh out of his command in Vietnam, in 1969. He said Westmoreland later offered him a full scholarship. He has said in the retelling of the story that that he turned down the supposed offer because he wanted to be a doctor. He later graduated from Yale University in 1973.
A West Point spokesperson told POLITICO that that it was “certainly possible” that Carson spoke with the general, and the four-star may have even encouraged the teenager to apply, but the school has a rigorous entry process that would not have allowed Westmoreland to guarantee anyone entry. Furthermore, there are no “full scholarships” to the academy.
According to Westmoreland’s Schedule, he wasn’t even in Detroit the time
Carson’s campaign responded Friday, saying Carson did meet with Westmoreland, and West Point officials told him he could get in based on his high school grades and performance in the ROTC. But in the end, he did not seek the application.
“There are “Service Connected” nominations for stellar High School ROTC appointments,” said campaign manager Barry Bennett. “Again he was the top ROTC student in Detroit. I would argue strongly that an Appointment is indeed an amazing full scholarship. Having ran several Congressional Offices I am very familiar with the Nomination process.”
“Again though his Senior Commander was in touch with West Point and told Dr. Carson he could get in, Dr. Carson did not seek admission.”
News Bulletin: Ben Carson has admits he’s been caught in a lie!
News Bulletin: Ben Carson has admits he"s been caught in a lie!