Story highlights Ben Carson is calling on the five Republican presidential candidates to all gather

Carson said 'this race has taken a turn for the worse"

Washington (CNN) Ben Carson is calling on the five Republican presidential candidates to all gather and bury their hatchets before Thursday night's debate in Detroit.

In a statement, Carson, a long-shot in a race dominated by Donald Trump, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, said that "this race has taken a turn for the worse, to the point of embarrassment on the world stage."

He blamed the race's negativity -- which in recent days has featured Trump mocking Rubio's perspiration and Rubio joking about the size of Trump's fingers -- on the media.

"If we are to defeat our Democratic opponent in the general election this November, we must reach an agreement together with each other that we will not succumb to the media's desire for a fight on the stage in Detroit," Carson said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

The statement said Carson is reaching out to each candidate by phone in an effort to set up a meeting in the hours before Thursday's Fox News debate.

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