Carson: Trump Needs To Stop Calling Clinton A ‘Bigot’

Former presidential candidate Ben Carson called on GOP nominee Donald Trump to refrain from calling Democratic rival Hillary Clinton a “bigot.”

“I don’t generally get into the name-calling thing,” Carson told the Daily Beast on August 26. “I kind of left that behind in the third grade. I certainly don’t encourage it because the issues that we’re facing are incredibly important — for us and for the future generations.”

The controversy came after Trump called Clinton a “bigot” at an August 24 campaign rally and stood by his comments during a CNN interview the following day.

“She is a bigot,” he told CNN. “She is selling [African-Americans] down the tubes because she’s not doing anything for those communities. She talks a good game. But she doesn’t do anything.”

Although Carson is actively campaigning for Trump and working as one of his advisers, the former neurosurgeon vocally disagreed with the Republican nominee on this matter.

“[Name-calling is] what people do who don’t have anything to talk about,” Carson told the Daily Beast of the rhetoric coming from both Trump and Clinton. He added that the media should play a bigger role in guiding candidates away from such attacks.

Despite their disagreement on rhetoric, Carson praised Trump for making progress in his campaign, particularly in turning his attention toward community issues and courting the black vote — something that he said Democrats take for granted.

“The important thing is that he has started the process,” Carson explained. “As you know, the Republican party has been relatively missing in action when it comes to reaching out to minority communities in recent decades. I think particularly in the African-American community, a large number of people recognize that the Democrats have not done diddly-squat for them. But they don’t feel that they have any other place to go.”

Carson also called on both Trump and Clinton to release their complete medical records as soon as possible and “without question” so as to curb any concerns regarding their fitness to perform such a stressful job, notes The Washington Post.

“I think that somebody who is running for president of the United States, particularly if they’re elderly — and that would include both major candidates — should disclose their medical history,” Carson told MSNBC, according to the Post. “And I’m not talking about from a year ago or two years ago. I’m talking about currently.”

Sources: Daily Beast, CNN, The Washington Post / Photo credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr