22 Times The 2016 Presidential Election Was A Dumpster Fire
By Ayesha
Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images.
18. Ben Carson Takes a Stab at Dishonesty
However, usually when a politician is accused of lying, it’s generally about a story meant to improve their reputation. But former Republican hopeful Ben Carson stuck by a dubious tale that really didn’t do him any favours. The claim is that he attempted to stab someone as a young man. It’s hard to understand why anyone would pretend they’d tried to hurt someone, but nonetheless Carson’s story was the source of much scrutiny.
As Jezebel reported, there wasn’t a lot of consistency in the way the story was told. The potential victim was either an instigator or an innocent friend, depending on which version Carson purports. And the claim that the weapon was broken by a belt buckle also doesn’t make a lot of sense, unless it was a butter knife. Beyond that, his peers remember no such incident.
In spite of all those who didn’t find his story plausible, Carson stuck by it. Though it might invoke an image of a moral about-face, it doesn’t help a presidential campaign. Even for the sake of consistency it seems strange not only repeatedly claim a history of violence, but also make it one of your talking points. In fact, he described detraction of the tale as “an attempt to smear.” It was baffling to see someone so offended by people believing he wouldn’t stab someone.