Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson has accused the Washington media of being bias, insincere and trying to embarrass him on many issues affecting the country.
Carson lashed out at the press during a gathering of reporters and communications professionals at the National Press Club in Washington, where he cited several instances when he believes his views were misrepresented, according to The Hill.
"Many in the press will say I'm sensitive and that I should not be thinking about running for office, because I get offended by what they do. But the reason I expose the press is because I want the people of America to understand what they're doing. It's not because I'm sensitive,'' Carson said.
Carson's frustrations stemmed from an incident last week when he reportedly let out "wildly offensive statements'' following a deadly school shooting rampage and his suggestion to carry guns on schools grounds.
Carson said if he had been at the Umpqua Community College in Oregon, the site of the Oct.1 mass shooting, he would have stood up to the gunman. But many people reportedly interpreted the remarks to mean that the victims didn't do enough to protect themselves.
He was also reported to have called for arming officials on school grounds, described an encounter with a gunman at a Popeye's restaurant and said the Holocaust would have been less likely if the Jews in Germany had been armed, the Hill said.
Carson said his remarks on the Holocaust and his views on guns were taken out of context or "intentionally distorted by reporters eager to sink his presidential hopes.''
"Everything needs to be looked at in context, and when news media picks one word or one phrase and they run with it and try to characterise people like that, I gotta tell you guys, that's why people don't trust you anymore," he said.
The former renowned neurosurgeon whose popularity has been soaring in the latest polls also admonished the media for making him a frequent target for attacks because of his colour.
"They can't stand the thought of a black person who is conservative, who hasn't had to make it on their handout and be at their beck and call and doing the things that they want them to do,'' he said, according to Breitbart.com. "It just infuriates them."
Carson said it is central for the media to recognise that it's almost a sacred obligation to the people for them to be honest at all times. "They were supposed to expose and inform the people in a nonpartisan way. When they become partisan, as they are, they distort the system as it was supposed to work, and they allow the side that they pick to get away with all kinds of things."
