Ben Carson: It would be a "good idea" for Trump to apologize for being a birther https://t.co/mLwMAQ8jRY https://t.co/2aCfwn0G8C
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 6, 2016
Donald Trump adviser Ben Carson on Tuesday said the Republican presidential nominee should apologize for questioning whether President Obama was born in the United States.
“I think that would be a good idea, absolutely,” Carson said on CNN’s “The Lead” when asked if Trump should admit a mistake over the “birther” attacks and apologize to African-American voters.
{mosads}”I suggest that on all sides,” Carson continued, pushing back on the “hate” and “rancor” in politics.
Trump repeatedly questioned whether Obama was born in Hawaii, eventually goading the White House into releasing the president’s long-form birth certificate in 2011.
Asked Monday in a gaggle with reporters whether he thinks Obama was born in the U.S., Trump responded, “I don’t talk about it.”
Trump has recently made an effort to court African-American voters, a demographic with which he has polled in the low single digits. Black voters turned out in large numbers to elect Obama twice.
Some African-American voters considered the birther movement toward Obama racist, viewing it as an effort to delegitimize the country’s first black president.