Carson Campaign Confused by 9/11 Comment

Ben Carson told an ABC News reporter on Monday that he “saw the film” of American Muslims cheering after the World Trade Center fell on 9/11. But his campaign tells The Daily Beast they’re “a bit of a loss” about what Carson meant by that.

During a rally on Saturday, Donald Trump became the first Republican candidate to insist that “thousands and thousands” of American Muslims in New Jersey celebrated the destruction of the World Trade Center. He reiterated those quickly-debunked comments during a Sunday interview, telling George Stephanopoulos that, “people were cheering in New Jersey, where you have large Arab populations.”

Carson quickly backed up Trump’s assertion. "There are going to be people who respond inappropriately to virtually everything,” Carson originally said on Monday when asked about the supposed cheering. “I think that was an inappropriate response. I don’t know if on the basis of that all Muslims are bad people. I really think that would be a stretch.”

Another reporter clarified that the footage Carson had seen was “in New Jersey.”

“Yes,” Carson responded.

However, Carson spokesman Doug Watts said he’s reached out to the reporter “to determine what exactly Ben said to her.”

“What is being suggested by reports(s) is not correct from Dr. Carson’s p-o-v,” Watts added.

Minutes after emailing the Beast that statement, ABC News reported that Carson “apologizes” for the claim, and was thinking of footage he saw of celebrations in the Middle East.