Voters “who do not want to see America fundamentally devolve into something worse,” Carson wrote, “must be wise enough to recognize the scheme that is being played out here.” | AP Photo Carson offers a rare Trump defense, urging supporters not to be 'distracted'

Ben Carson emerged Saturday as one of few prominent Republicans willing to offer a public defense of Donald Trump in the wake of an explosive report that he had once bragged about groping women, suggesting that the controversy around the remarks is a distraction.

Carson, a surgeon popular among evangelical Christians, released a statement Saturday declining to condone Trump’s remarks, writing that “this behavior is unacceptable, especially by someone who aspires to higher office,” and praising Trump for apologizing. But still, Carson urged supporters not to be “distracted” by the revelations, which have prompted dozens of Republicans to rebuke their presidential nominee.


Without offering evidence, Carson also accused “the progressives” of having prior knowledge of the damaging remarks but holding off on reporting them so as to drop them into the news cycle at a convenient time for Hillary Clinton.

“I feel fairly certain that the progressives have had knowledge of this conversation for a long time and dropped it at this point in time in an effort [to] obscure the release of damaging information about Hillary Clinton and her desire for open borders,” said Carson, who ran against Trump for the Republican nomination earlier this year.

Also on Friday, the website WikiLeaks published messages allegedly hacked from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s email account. The dump included partial transcripts from private paid speeches Clinton made to banks including Goldman Sachs, and the potentially damaging correspondence indicates that she described a vision for “open trade and open borders,” among other remarks that appeared to contradict her public statements.

“I believe that they have more material that they will release periodically up until the election to keep a negative focus on Donald Trump,” Carson continued. “They do not want to discuss the vital issues that are destroying our nation and the future of our children, because they do not have logical solutions and offer more of the same that has gotten us into this precarious situation.”

Voters “who do not want to see America fundamentally devolve into something worse,” Carson wrote, “must be wise enough to recognize the scheme that is being played out here.”

Other prominent Republicans, including Trump supporters such as the party’s national committee chairman, Reince Priebus, have used strong language to condemn the remarks, made in a private conversation in 2005 and caught on a hot mic. The Washington Post published video and audio from the conversation on Friday afternoon, throwing Republicans into panic.