campaign 2016
Trump likens Carson's 'pathological' temper to child molesting: 'You don't cure these people'
In an interview Thursday, Donald Trump said that his fellow Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson has a "pathological temper," which, like "child molesting," has "no cure."
"It's in the book that he's got a pathological temper," he told CNN's Erin Burnett, referring to Carson's 1990 autobiography Gifted Hands. "That's a big problem because you don't cure that ... as an example: child molesting. You don't cure these people. You don't cure a child molester. There's no cure for it. Pathological, there's no cure for that." Carson wrote that as a youth, he was very violent, once trying to stab a friend; Carson has also mentioned nearly attacking his mother with a hammer. "I'm not bringing up anything that's not in his book," Trump said. "You know, when he says he went after his mother with a hammer, that bothers me. I mean, that's pretty bad."
When asked by Burnett if he believes Carson when he says his anger is a thing of the past, Trump said he didn't know. "You'll have to ask him that question," he said. "Look, I hope he's fine because I think it would be a shame. ... He's saying these things happen and therefore I have credibility. And what I'm saying is, I'd rather have them if they didn't happen. I don't want somebody who hit somebody in the face with a padlock." Armstrong Williams, the Carson campaign's business manager, responded to Trump's remarks, telling CNN: "Mr. Trump has resentment when he sees Dr. Carson rise. He lashes out like he did tonight."