Ben Carson Adviser On Trump's Comments: 'It's The Kind Of Language You Hear In Rap Music'
FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2015 file photo, Ben Carson speaks in National Harbor, Md. Carson has created an exploratory committee to run for president, becoming the first high-profile Republican candidate to formally enter the 2016 presidential contest. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Former Republican presidential candidate and iconic surgeon Ben Carson has been one of Donald Trump's most prominent supporters, and a damning video leaked on Friday isn't changing that.
"There are two issues. The tape itself, which unfortunately is the kind of language that we hear in rap music, we hear in probably coarse conversation, you know, unfortunately, we hear this," said Armstrong Williams, who Business Insider reports is one of Carson's top advisors. "No one listening to that tape in media and political life has not heard it before."
The constantly controversial Trump came under even more fire than usual on Friday, when video footage from 2005 surfaced of him having a vulgar conversation about women with Access Hollywood host Billy Bush. On the tape, Trump speaks about trying to sleep with a married woman, and said that his celebrity allows him to "do anything" to women, including kissing them or "grab(bing) them by the pu**y," without their consent.
Senator John McCain, Senator John Thune, former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte, Rep. Joe Heck, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, and many more Republicans have pulled their support from Trump as a result. House Speaker Paul Ryandisinvited Trump from a campaign rally on Saturday. Trump has released a videotaped apology, saying "these words don't reflect who I am," and "my travels have also changed me."
Carson wrote an op-ed for The Hill that went live on Saturday afternoon. In the piece, he said that even though he "condemn(s) any form of disrespect towards women," that he believes progressives delayed the release of the tape "to obscure the release of damaging information about Hillary Clinton and her desire for open borders."
"I believe that they have more material that they will release periodically up until the election to keep a negative focus on Donald Trump," Carson wrote. "They do not want to discuss the vital issues that are destroying our nation and the future of our children, because they do not have logical solutions and offer more of the same that has gotten us into this precarious situation."
This also wouldn't be the first time Carson has criticized hip-hop, as he has previously said that the music and culture are destructive for African Americans.
“We need to reestablish faith in our communities and the values and principles that got us through slavery, that got us through Jim Crow, and segregation, and all kinds of horrible things that were heaped upon us," he said. "Why were we able to get through those? Because of our faith, because of our family, because of our values, and as we allow the hip-hop community to destroy those things for us, and as we grasp onto what's politically correct and not what is correct, we continue to deteriorate."
Many people have issues with the content of rap music, so Carson wouldn't be unique on that front. But if the misogyny of hip-hop insults him enough to disavow it, why would he continue supporting Donald Trump?