Ben Carson says he 'does not stand behind' earlier comments about U.S. Muslims cheering 9/11

On Monday afternoon, Ben Carson took back comments he made earlier in the day about seeing American Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York City.

"Dr. Carson does not stand by the statements that were reported today," his communications director, Doug Watts, said in a statement. "He was hearing and thinking something differently at the time. He does, however, recall and had his mind focused on the celebrations in the Middle East. He is not suggesting that American Muslims were in New Jersey celebrating the fall of the Twin Towers." Watts said that Carson, who said he watched "newsreels" of the celebrations, also apologized to "anybody offended by that."

His fellow Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, said at a rally in Alabama on Saturday that he witnessed "thousands and thousands" of people in Jersey City "cheering" as the World Trade Center towers collapsed. On Monday, after several people had questioned this claim, Trump tweeted out a link to a Washington Post article from 2001 that reported people were "allegedly seen celebrating the attack and holding tailgate-style parties on rooftops," NBC News reports. Since then, law enforcement officials have said these claims were unfounded.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up