Ben Carson Says President Obama ‘Grew Up in White America’

In what may be one of the weirder electoral Hail Marys of all time, former Republican quasi-frontrunner Dr. Ben Carson is spending his time quietly attacking President Obama’s blackness. In an interview with Politico, Carson said that Obama was “raised white,” and that Obama’s claim to understanding the black experience is “a bit of a stretch.”

Carson elaborated on that statement Tuesday morning, in an interview with MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts:

I simply was responding to something that someone was saying. And the fact of the matter is, you know, he did not grow up in black America. He grew up in white America. Doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just that when the claim is made that he represents the black experience, it’s just not true.

What’s weird is that in his earlier remarks, Carson seemed to indicate that Obama was raised in white Indonesia:

“He’s an ‘African’ American. He was, you know, raised white. Many of his formative years were spent in Indonesia. So, for him to, you know, claim that, you know, he identifies with the experience of black Americans, I think, is a bit of a stretch.”

The notion of Ben Carson as the first “real” black president was floated several months ago by noted African American scholar Rupert Murdoch, who later apologized for this tweet:

Ben and Candy Carson terrific. What about a real black President who can properly address the racial divide? And much else.

— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) October 8, 2015

At the time, Carson defended Murdoch, although not on the basis of Obama’s upbringing:

“Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. I believe what he was making reference to was the fact that here was a man who was a black president that the black community was very excited about who came in and whose policies have not really elevated the black community. He has not been beneficial. There’s more unemployment, more poverty, and I believe that’s what he was really referring to.”

Although still much higher than white unemployment, the black unemployment rate has actually fallen to its lowest rate since 2007. The state of Hawaii, where President Obama spent most of his formative years, has a white population of 26.7%, versus the national percentage of 77.4%.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.