Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson this afternoon said Islamic terrorists unfortunately “have been very successful with their ideological education program,” using social media as recruiting tools.
“What we’re going to have to do is take a page out of their book and, you know, begin a counter-offensive showing that maybe there are different ways of doing things and better ways of doing things,” Carson said, “appeal to the more humanitarian side of people.”
Carson made his comments late this afternoon during an hour-long appearance on WHO-TV that was focused on education issues. Carson discussed recent college campus controversies over race relations. Carson has been a critic of political correctness and he said college should prepare students for the “real world.”
“When you get out into the real world, there’s not little ‘safe zones’ you go to when you feel that someone has offended you. That’s probably the wrong tack to take,” Carson said. “What we really should be teaching people is: How do you cope with individuals who you think are treating you the wrong way? How do you engage in dialogue? How do you hope to make them see the error of their way?”
Carson said he doesn’t plan to engage with Donald Trump, though, after Trump’s recent rant about Carson’s account of his “pathological” teenage temper. Carson suggested Trump is “grasping at straws.”
“I think that’s part of his nature to do that. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest and I’m not going to go look for a safe zone. I’m not going to go ask him for an apology,” Carson said. “He may need to ask himself for an apology because I think in the long run that kind of ranting is not going to be beneficial to him.”
Carson is scheduled to campaign in Iowa later this week. Trump will appear at a forum in Newton on Thursday.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal dropped out of the GOP race late this afternoon. Jindal released a statement saying running had been “an honor, but this is not my time.” Jindal had been scheduled to be in Iowa tomorrow, to appear on WHO-TV from 4-5 p.m.