Ben Carson: 'PC Culture' Behind Muslim Controversy

Ben Carson today blamed "PC culture" for the political fallout over his statement against electing a Muslim president. Carson told reporters in Ohio that his view is that anyone wanting to be president must embrace the Constitution and American principles. He added that he would oppose a Christian for president who wanted to establish a theocracy. Asked how his campaign can recover from the controversy, the retired neurosurgeon replied: "The only way we fix that is fix the PC culture in our country," referring to political correctness. "We fix America, and we get people who actually start listening ... and stop trying to fit everything into a PC model," he said.

Carson's remarks came amid a backlash over his comments last weekend that Muslims shouldn't serve in the presidency. In an interview with Fox News, Carson then retreated slightly, saying he would be open to a moderate Muslim who denounced radical Islam as a White House candidate. But he also said he stood by his original comments, saying the country cannot elect people "whose faith might interfere with carrying out the duties of the Constitution." Today, Carson called the Muslim president question "a theoretical issue" that's distracting from important national and international problems, from US income inequality to the Syrian refugee crisis. (More Ben Carson stories.)