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BEN CARSON: This is a process, running for president.
I was what I guess you would call a reluctant warrior.
It certainly was not something that was on my bucket list.
But I do pay attention.
And I listen to the hundreds of thousands
of people who sent petitions to my home and said,
you should do this.
I have been very concerned for a very long time
about what was happening with our nation
and with our government.
And why is it that the American people are so restless?
Why do they not trust the government?
And why have we come to a place where we actually
expect that and accept that and say that that's
a part of the process?
That's why I personally have refused to become a politician.
That's why I do not accept money from special interest groups
or from billionaires who want to influence the process,
and why I never will.
I think there are things that are more important than that.
And I make no bones about the fact
that I am a person of faith.
And I believe what it says in Matthew 7:20,
in the Sermon on the Mount, "by their fruit
you will know them."
You know people not by what they say but by what they do
and how their lives are led.
And I hope that people will judge me
by those same standards-- not what I say, but what I do,
what has my life been.
And I hope you will judge all the other people who
are running for this position by the same standards.
I think if we do that, we're less likely to make a mistake.
And we need to think truly about our children.
What kind of image are we setting for them?
Are we holding up the highest values and principles
that have characterized America in the past?
Or are we settling for what we consider
to be the best that we can get?
We can get complete excellence.
And we should settle for nothing less than that.
Thank you.
Let me open it up for questions.
-Dr. Carson, are you calling Ted Cruz a hypocrite?
BEN CARSON: I didn't say a word about Ted Cruz.
What I said is what we need to be able to do
is look at a person's life-- look
at the way a person does things.
Look at the way a person treats other people.
And make a judgment.
-But you're obviously talking about the rumors that
were out there that someone in the Cruz campaign
were putting out there on caucus night.
So this is the reason why we're here, isn't it?
BEN CARSON: It's clear that there
were people who tried to take advantage of a situation, who
tried to distort information.
There's no question about that.
Senator Cruz told me that he was not aware of that
when I talked to him.
And that he did not agree with that kind of thing.
And we'll wait and see what he does to demonstrate that.
-But you don't believe him, if you are here
talking about the way people conduct themselves.
BEN CARSON: Well, he could very well have not known about it.
But it's obvious that there were people in his organization
who not only knew about it but who carried it out,
who executed it.
So we have to look at the obvious things that
are going on.
-Dr. Carson, do you think that it obviously
affected your result in Iowa, what you're describing?
BEN CARSON: I think it did, yes.
I was getting a lot of intelligence
from a lot of different places saying
that I was going to do extraordinarily well.
And I do think it affected that.
There was one instance where my wife went to a caucus.
And my representative had already spoken.
But the Cruz representative had spoken
and told people that I was, in fact, not going
to be continuing.
And the people wanted to actually hear from my wife.
So she was an unscheduled speaker.
And she obviously disabused them of that notion.
And they were extraordinarily happy, I must say.
They gave her a standing ovation.
And I won that precinct.
Who's to say what the outcome-- I don't think
we can say what the outcome is.
But we can say whether or not we take something like this
and just sweep it under the rug, and say, eh,
that's just the way it is.
Or are there consequences?
-What do you think of Donald Trump wading into the fight?
He's been defending you on Twitter most of the day,
attacking Ted Cruz for it.
BEN CARSON: Well, I have a tendency--
as you've probably noticed over the last several months--
not to talk about other people and what their intentions are
and what they do.
I will continue that now.
-Dr. Carson, how do you evaluate the state of your campaign
at this point?
You said you're going on to New Hampshire and South Carolina.
What sort of showing do you need [INAUDIBLE] to continue?
BEN CARSON: Well, I want to continue to make progress.
You know, I base what I do on the support
that I see-- the monetary support, the tremendous support
that I have on social media, and what I see in the crowds
and in people that I encounter.
Those are the things that will tell me.
Because again, you know, this was not
something that was on my bucket list.
This is something I'm doing for the people.
And so many people everywhere I go
say please, please, please, please, please don't drop out.
Please don't stop.
We need you.
So I will continue to be a voice as long as I
feel that that is the case.
And the other thing that I really
need to emphasize-- you know, one of the things that they say
represents America is baseball.
Have you noticed that in a baseball game
there are nine endings?
And you don't call the game after the first inning or two?
There's a reason for that.
-Just to be clear, we are here because of what
happened with the Cruz campaign.
BEN CARSON: I suspect that that's the reason you're here.
-Well, you're the one who called the press conference.
BEN CARSON: That's why I'm here.
I don't know why you're here.
-Dr. Carson--
-Dr. Carson--
-Dr. Carson, you're using faith as a way of criticizing what
Ted Cruz's campaign has done.
Can you elaborate on that?
Why do you use a Bible verse to talk
about what Ted Cruz has done?
BEN CARSON: I'm talking about what everybody does.
When I say--
-No, but just then, you were talking about Ted Cruz.
BEN CARSON: By their fruit, you will know them.
-Right.
BEN CARSON: OK?
That was the Sermon on the Mount.
-Right.
BEN CARSON: And it was in the context where Jesus was saying,
there are some people who aren't what they seem to be,
who say one thing and do another.
But you can always tell who they are
by their fruit, how they act.
-And it seems [INAUDIBLE] Ted Cruz, right?
BEN CARSON: So I'm-- you're the one.
-No, no.
I'm not the one.
You're saying it.
BEN CARSON: No.
Listen to what I'm saying.
Listen carefully.
Don't argue.
Just listen.
OK.
What I'm saying is that you, the press,
and we, the American people, have a perfectly good way
of evaluating people.
We've always had a good way of evaluating people.
Will we use it?
Or will we ignore it?
Go back to the previous president,
or the current president when he was running.
Were there things there that could
have been evaluated that would have told us a great deal
if we had chosen to look at them?
Probably there are.
-Dr. Carson, the consequences that-- you've
mentioned that people in Ted Cruz's organization
were doing this.
Should he fire those people?
Should he terminate all ties with those people?
BEN CARSON: Well, let me put it this way.
When I discovered that there were things in my campaign
that I couldn't agree with after really doing an investigation,
I made changes.
And I think that's what a good leader does.
If there are things that are going on that you don't agree
with, you have to make changes.
Now if he agrees with it, he doesn't need to make changes.
It would be hypocritical, wouldn't it,
to go against your belief.
So if he agrees with it, not a problem, for him.
-I have a question.
You're asking others to make a judgment on whether Ted Cruz is
who he says he is.
Do you think he is who he says he is?
BEN CARSON: Well, I guess you have
to preface that by telling me, who does he say he is?
-Well, he says his campaign is a revival which
will turn America back to God.
-He says he's the choice for evangelical voters.
Are you saying that they should reconsider their support
for him, given what you're alleging?
BEN CARSON: I'm saying that evangelical voters, just
like everybody else, should listen to what I just said
and evaluate a person on what they do,
how they treat other people.
And that includes myself.
I want people to evaluate me on that basis also.
-Did Ted Cruz apologize to you?
BEN CARSON: Yes, he did.
-What did he say?
BEN CARSON: Well, he said, obviously he
didn't know that people were doing this kind of thing
in his organization.
And he didn't agree with it.
-Do you regret announcing that you
were going to be going back to Florida
and spurring some of this confusion?
BEN CARSON: Well, I didn't make that announcement.
I guess somebody talked to other people.
-Well, your campaign told the press.
BEN CARSON: I didn't say it.
So don't blame me.
-But you're here telling us that people
should know what's going on in their campaign,
and to hold people accountable.
I mean--
-Well, let me ask you this question.
Is it OK, after being on the road for almost three weeks,
to go home and get a fresh change of clothes?
Or is that a problem?
Does that make somebody into an evil, horrible person?
-What does that have to do with--
-Trump called this fraud.
Do you agree with that term?
BEN CARSON: Again, I think I've said
what I want to say on that.
I know you guys like to create a mud fight.
Because that's fun.
-No, we're just wondering what you--
BEN CARSON: You know, this is the problem with America today.
We've become like ancient Rome.
Everybody wanted to go to the Colosseum
and see the blood and the gore-- oh,
this is exciting-- while their society was crumbling around
them.
I think I've stated very clearly what people need to look at
and how they need to make their evaluations.
-Doctor, you have time for two more questions.
-Have you spoken to anyone else from the campaign,
in particular Congressman Steve King
who tweeted out that you were dropping out on Monday night?
BEN CARSON: I haven't spoken to him.
I did speak to Rob Taylor.
He's a state representative in Iowa,
and was our campaign chairman there.
And he has called upon Representative King
on multiple occasions to clarify, to apologize.
And he says he has not heard a word from Congressman King.
-Dr. Carson--
-Dr. Carson, tomorrow you're--
BEN CARSON: I hear a voice way in the wilderness over here.
Where is that?
OK.
-Dr. Carson--
-You called-- or you mentioned, or you
asked-- are there consequences [INAUDIBLE].
I guess just to follow up on that,
are you suggesting that there should be?
And what should they be?
BEN CARSON: Well, I think I just said
when I did a deep dive in my organization
and I found that there were problems, I made changes.
That's what you have to do.
Unless you agree with it-- again,
if he's in total agreement with it,
then he doesn't need to make any changes.
-Has the Trump organization been--
-Tomorrow, you're going to be returning
to a venue that perhaps helped launch this campaign.
Can you talk about that?
BEN CARSON: Well-- the National Prayer Breakfast,
I assume you're talking about.
Because I'm going to a number of venues tomorrow.
But you know, it was a very interesting thing
that happened three years ago at the National Prayer Breakfast.
But one of the things I'm going to be doing tomorrow
is meeting with a number of state leaders
from other places, and just talking
about America, the world, their countries, what things we
have in common, and how do we make progress in the world?
That's going to be one of the main focuses of my going there.
-All right.
Thank you all.