WASHINGTON 鈥� Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson is facing scrutiny for聽part of his 1996 book聽鈥淕ifted Hands,” which claims he turned down a scholarship from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
On Friday, that聽Carson鈥檚 campaign admitted the West Point scholarship was fabricated.
The story from 鈥淕ifted Hands,鈥� according to Politico, has it that in 1969 the 17-year-old Carson had dinner in his native Detroit with Gen. William Westmoreland, who had recently finished commanding U.S. forces in Vietnam. Carson writes that he then was offered a 鈥渇ull scholarship鈥� to the academy.
West Point, Politico says, has no record of Carson applying, or of being accepted. A spokeswoman told Politico that Westmoreland may have encouraged Carson to apply, but couldn鈥檛 have offered him a spot in West Point 鈥� prospective students must be nominated by a member of Congress or a military official.
And there is no such thing as a 鈥渇ull scholarship鈥� to West Point 鈥� in exchange for a military commitment, admission is free.
鈥淒r. Carson was the top ROTC student in the City of Detroit,鈥� campaign manager Barry Bennett said in an email to Politico. 鈥淚n that role he was invited to meet General Westmoreland. He believes it was at a banquet. He can鈥檛 remember with specificity their brief conversation but it centered around Dr. Carson鈥檚 performance as ROTC City Executive Officer.鈥�
Bennett added, 鈥淗e was introduced to folks from West Point by his ROTC supervisors. They told him they could help him get an appointment based on his grades and performance in ROTC. He considered it but in the end did not seek admission.鈥�
Carson has claimed he turned down the supposed offer because he preferred a career in medicine to the military, Politico said.
In response to the Politico article, Carson campaign spokesman,聽Doug Watts,聽on Friday afternoon told that the “story is a lie” and that聽Carson “never said he was admitted or even applied.”
“Dr. Carson as the leading ROTC student in Detroit was told by his Commanders that he could get an Appointment to the Academy. He never said he was admitted or even applied,” said Watts.
