Ben Carson: Trump and Khan family should apologize to each other
Former Republican presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson said on Wednesday that Donald Trump and the parents of a fallen U.S. Army captain should exchange apologies so that the American people can "move on" and unify.
"I don't think it would be harmful if they apologized to him and he apologized to them. But I don't see that happening," Carson said to CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
When asked why the Khan family should apologize to Donald Trump, Carson said, "Well, for one thing, if you accuse someone of something that's not true, it usually is a reasonable thing to acknowledge that."
The feud between Trump and the Gold-Star family erupted after the father of Humayun Khan--an Army Captain who died in 2004 in a car bombing in Iraq--delivered a rousing speech at the Democratic convention last Thursday in which he questioned the billionaire's judgment and character. Trump directly responded Khizr Khan's scathing denunciation by suggesting that his wife - Ghazala Khan--remained silent because the Muslim faith prevented her from publicly speaking. Since then, the rhetoric has intensified and attracted national attention--causing a bipartisan rebuke of Trump's statements.
Vietnam POW and Sen. John McCain--who has previously expressed his support for Trump--said the nomination bestowed upon him doesn't give him an "unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us."
And, at a Tuesday press conference, President Obama called Trump "unfit" to become president.
But, Ben Carson has approached the turmoil very differently, seemingly adopting the role of a peacemaker. He told Wolf Blitzer he wants to avoid making it a "one-sided issue."
"Why don't we all say back off a little bit. We have such important issues to deal with. And you know, let's just call a truce," Carson said. "And the best way to call a truce is simply to say, 'I'm over that, you're over that, I'm sorry I said this if it offended you.' Other side: 'I'm sorry if I said that.'
The nation's energy, he added, must be channeled to focus on other issues and priorities--not on "peripheral issues that don't mean anything."
"Because that's not our issue," Carson said. "You know, our strength as a nation is through unity. It's not through division. Division will destroy us. A house divided against itself cannot stand."
When asked if he regretted his remarks, Trump told WJLA's Scott Thurman, "I don't regret anything."