Ben Carson defended on CNN Thursday his controversial comments that he’d rather go down fighting if he were facing a gunman similar to the Oregon college shooting.
“To me that doesn’t sound like a very controversial thing, but when you take it out of context … that’s when it becomes controversial,” Carson told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, adding, “I would much rather go down fighting.”
Carson said the student who responded negatively to Carson’s statement did so because he was “probably fed” some misinformation about his position, suggesting the media coverage has misconstrued his original intent.
Carson said earlier this week on Fox News after the shooting in Oregon that he would’ve done more to prevent the gunman from going on a killing spree.
“Not only would I probably not cooperate with him, I would not just stand there and let him shoot me,” Carson said. “I would say, ‘Hey guys, everybody attack him. He may shoot me, but he can’t get us all.'”
The presidential candidate has since looked to clean up his remarks, saying that he was “not judging (the shooting victims) at all.”
But Carson recounted Wednesday a story about being held at gunpoint where he reacted differently amid backlash over his earlier comments.
“I have had a gun held on me when I was in a Popeye’s organization” in Baltimore, the retired neurosurgeon told Karen Hunter on Sirius XM Radio, referring to the fried chicken fast-food chain.
“Guy comes in, put the gun in my ribs. And I just said, ‘I believe that you want the guy behind the counter,'” Carson said.
In wide ranging interview, Carson also appeared to break with fellow GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush when the former Florida governor said he would not reauthorize the Voting Rights Act.
“Of course I want the Voting Rights Act to be protected,” Carson said, adding he wanted to know Bush’s rational. “Whether we still need it or not or whether we’ve outgrown the need for it is questionable.”
