AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE ON
THIS NOTION OF READINESS AND ON
EXPERIENCE, BUT I WANT TO ASK
ABOUT A HEADLINE THAT WAS BACK
IN THE PAPERS AGAIN THIS
MORNING.
DR. CARSON, ON THE DAY OF THE
IOWA CAUCUSES, THE CRUZ CAMPAIGN
SENTOUS MESSAGES SAYING DR. BEN
CARSON WILL BE PLANNING TO
SUSPEND HIS CAMPAIGN FOLLOWING
TONIGHT'S CAUCUSES.
PLEASE INFORM ANY CARSON
CAUCUS-GOERS OF THIS NEWS.
AS WE CAN ALL SEE, YOU ARE STILL
STANDING HERE TONIGHT.
LATE THIS WEEK, YOUR CAMPAIGN
SENT THIS E-MAIL, QUOTE, THIS
KIND OF DECEITFUL BEHAVIOR IS
WHY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DON'T
TRUST POLITICIANS.
IF SENATOR CRUZ DOES NOT ACT,
THEN HE CLEARLY REPRESENTS D.C.
VALUES.
WHAT KIND OF ACTION DO YOU THINK
SENATOR CRUZ SHOULD TAKE?
WELL, YOU KNOW, WHEN I WASN'T
INTRODUCED NUMBER TWO, AS WAS
THE PLAN, I THOUGHT MAYBE HE
THOUGHT I ALREADY HAD DROPPED
OUT, BUT -- BUT YOU KNOW, TODAY
IS THE 105th ANNIVERSARY, OR --
105th BIRTHDAY OF RONALD REAGAN.
HIS 11th COMMANDMENT WAS NOT TO
SPEAK ILL OF ANOTHER REPUBLICAN,
SO, I'M NOT GOING TO USE THIS
OPPORTUNITY TO SAVAGE THE
REPUTATION OF SENATOR CRUZ.
BUT I WILL SAY -- I WILL SAY --
I WILL SAY THAT I WAS VERY
DISAPPOINTED THAT MEMBERS OF HIS
TEAM THOUGHT SO LITTLE OF ME
THAT THEY THOUGHT THAT AFTER
HAVING HUNDREDS, IF NOT
THOUSANDS OF VOLUNTEERS AND
COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO SACRIFICED
THEIR TIME AND WERE DEDICATED TO
THE CAUSE, ONE EVEN DIED, TO
THINK THAT I WOULD JUST WALK
AWAY TEN MINUTES BEFORE THE
CAUCUS AND SAY, FORGET ABOUT YOU
GUYS -- I MEAN, WHO WOULD DO
SOMETHING LIKE THAT?
I DON'T THINK ANYONE ON THIS
STAGE WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE
THAT.
AND TO ASSUME THAT SOMEONE WOU
WOULD, WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU?
SO, UNFORTUNATELY, IT DID
HAPPEN.
IT GIVES US A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE
OF CERTAIN TYPES OF WASHINGTON
ETHICS.
WASHINGTON ETHICS, BASICALLY
SAYS, IF IT'S LEGAL, YOU DO WHAT
YOU NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO WIN.
THAT'S NOT MY ETHICS.
MY ETHICS IS, YOU DO WHAT'S
RIGHT.
SENATOR CRUZ -- DR. CARSON,
THANK YOU.
SENATOR CRUZ, YOU HAVE SAID THAT
DR. CARSON AND HIS WIFE HAVE
BECOME FRIENDS OF YOURS.
I'M CURIOUS WHY YOU DIDN'T CALL
AHEAD OF TIME TO EITHER THE
DOCTOR OR HIS WIFE OR HAD YOUR
CAMPAIGN CHECK IN BEFORE SENDING
OUT THOSE MESSAGES.
BEN IS A GOOD AND HONORABLE
MAN AND BEN AND CANDY HAVE
BECOME FRIENDS.
HE HAS AN AMAZING LIFE STORY
THAT HAS INSPIRED MILLIONS
INCLUDING ME.
WHEN THIS TRANSPIRED, I
APOLOGIZED TO HIM THEN AND I DO
SO NOW, BEN, I'M SORRY.
LET ME TELL YOU THE FACTS OF
WHAT OCCURRED FOR THOSE WHO ARE
INTERESTED IN KNOWING.
ON MONDAY NIGHT, ABOUT 6:30
P.M., CNN REPORTED THAT BEN WAS
NOT GOING FROM IOWA TO NEW
HAMPSHIRE OR SOUTH CAROLINA,
RATHER, HE WAS, QUOTE, TAKING A
BREAK FROM CAMPAIGNING.
THEY REPORTED THAT ON TELEVI
TELEVISION, CNN'S POLITICAL
ANCHORS, JAKE TAPPER AND DANA
BASH AND WOLF BLITZER SAID IT
WAS HIGHLY UNUSUAL AND HIGHLY
SIGNIFICANT.
MY POLITICAL TEAM SAW CNN'S
REPORT BREAKING NEWS AND THEY
FORWARDED THAT NEWS TO OUR
VOLUNTEERS, IT WAS BEING COVERED
ON LIVE TELEVISION.
NOW, AT THE TIME, I WAS AT THE
CAUCUSES, I WAS GETTING READY TO
SPEAK AT THE CAUCUSES JUST LIKE
BEN WAS, JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE
WAS.
I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THIS.
A COUPLE HOURS LATER, I WAS TOLD
THAT BEN WAS UNHAPPY.
I CALLED HIM THAT EVENING
BECAUSE I RESPECT HIM VERY, VERY
HIGHLY.
I DIDN'T REACH HIM THAT EVENING.
I REACHED HIM THE NEXT DAY AND
APOLOGIZED.
HE ASKED ME THEN, HE SAID, TED,
WOULD YOU MAKE THIS APOLOGIZE IN
PUBLIC.
I SAID, YES, I WILL.
AND I DID SO.
I REGRET THAT SUBSEQUENTLY, CNN
REPORTED ON THAT, THEY DIDN'T
CORRECT THAT STORY UNTIL 9:15
THAT NIGHT, SO, FROM 6:30 P.M.
TO 9:15, THAT'S WHAT CNN WAS
REPORTING.
SUBSEQUENT TO THAT INITIAL
REPORT, BEN'S CAMPAIGN PUT OUT A
STATEMENT SAYING THAT HE WAS NOT
SUSPENDING HIS CAMPAIGN, I WISH
THAT OUR CAMPAIGN STAFF HAD
FORWARDED THAT STATEMENT, THEY
WERE UNAWARE OF IT, I WISH THAT
THEY HAD, THAT'S WHY I
APOLOGIZED.
SENATOR CRUZ, THANK YOU.
WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON HERE.
BACK TO THE ISSUES --
SINCE I WAS MENTIONED --
DR. CARSON --
THIS IS GREAT.
I WANT YOU ALL TO MENTION ME
WHEN YOU SAY SOMETHING.
IN FACT THE TIMELINE INDICATES
THAT INITIAL
FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER ONE WITHIN
ONE MINUTE THAT CLARIFIED THAT I
WAS NOT DROPPING OUT, SO, WHAT
HAPPENED TO THAT ONE, IT IS
UNCLEAR.
BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS, WE CAN
SEE WHAT HAPPENED, EVERYBODY CAN