Ben Carson Says President Obama Was ‘Raised White’
— -- President Obama may be the country’s first black president, but Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson evidently believes Obama was “raised white.”
“He’s an African American,” Carson told Politico’s Glenn Thrush in an interview for his “Off Message” podcast. “He was, you know, raised white.”
Carson, while noting that he was proud of the president for breaking racial barriers with his historic 2008 win, explained that "[Obama's] experience and my experience are night-and-day different. He didn't grow up like I grew up by any stretch of the imagination.”
Carson continued: “Many of his formative years were spent in Indonesia. So, for him to, you know, claim that, you know, he identifies with the experience of black Americans, I think, is a bit of a stretch. Remember now, I’ve been around for 64 years, you know…I’ve had a chance to see what real racism is.”
When asked if he thinks GOP front-runner Donald Trump is racist, Carson demurred.
“I have not witnessed anything that would make me say that about him,” he said.
The former neurosurgeon, who came in last in the South Carolina primary, dismissed the suggestion that he might exit the race anytime soon.
“I don't have any immediate plans of cessation,” he told Thrush.
ABC News has reached out to the White House for comment.
