Ben Carson Admits He Made Up a Key Part of His Biography

Republican presidental candidate Ben Carson has come under increased media scrutiny over the details of his well-publicized biography. Photo taken at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference (Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)

[MOTHER JONES]

Ben Carson admitted Friday that a key piece of his storied biography—his oft-told tale of transformation from a poor kid with anger problems in Detroit to a world-famous neurosurgeon—was made up.

The Republican presidential candidate conceded Friday that he never received a full scholarship to the US Military Academy at West Point, after an investigation by Politico. In his book Gifted Hands, Carson recalls having dinner in May 1969 with Gen. William Westmoreland, who had just been in charge of US forces in Vietnam. Carson said that meeting led to a “full scholarship” offer from West Point.

But as West Point told Politico, the academy has no record of Carson ever applying to the school. Presented with this evidence, the Carson campaign admitted the story was false.

Read the rest of the story at Mother Jones.