AP Photo 2016 Ben Carson denies ever saying he received a 'full scholarship' to West Point

Ben Carson, in an agitated press conference Friday night, denied that he had ever claimed receiving a "full scholarship" from West Point.

“I never said that I received a full scholarship. Nowhere did I say that,” Carson said. “POLITICO as you know, told a bold-faced lie.”


“I had people that said that, yes, I could get a scholarship to West Point and I told them I wasn’t interested — that I was going to pursue medicine,” Carson said.

Carson said he felt the way he’s described the episode in his life is perfectly clear.

But the retired neurosurgeon did say he got a scholarship offer — more than once.

In his 1996 autobiography “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story,” Carson wrote on page 67 that after a dinner with a prominent U.S. general he was "offered a full scholarship to West Point.”

“More exciting to me, General William Westmoreland (very prominent in the Viet Nam war) attended with an impressive entourage. Afterward, Sgt. Hunt” — his high school ROTC director — “introduced me to General Westmoreland, and I had dinner with him and the Congressional Medal winners. Later I was offered a full scholarship to West Point.”

He continued: "I didn't refuse the scholarship outright, but I let them know that a military career wasn't where I saw myself going. As overjoyed as a felt to be offered such a scholarship, I wasn't really tempted. The scholarship would have obligated me to spend four years in military service after I finished college, precluding my chances to go on to medical school. I knew my direction — I wanted to be a doctor, and nothing would divert me or stand in the way.

"Of course, the offer of a full scholarship flattered me," he went on.

In an October interview with TV host Charlie Rose, Carson said he "was offered full scholarship to West Point":

“I had a goal of achieving the office of city executive officer [in JROTC]. Well, no one had ever done that in that amount of time … Long story short, it worked, I did it,” Carson said. “I was offered full scholarship to West Point, got to meet General Westmoreland, go to Congressional Medal dinners, but decided really my pathway would be medicine.”

During Friday's news conference, Carson also compared himself to President Barack Obama.

“I do not remember this level of scrutiny for one president, Barack Obama, when he was running. In fact, I remember just the opposite,” Carson said.

Then a passionate Carson asked the reporters in the room why they weren’t demanding that the president’s academic records be released.

“You’re saying ... the words [with which] a scholarship was offered is a big deal but the president of the United States, his academic records being sealed, is not? … Tell me how there’s equivalency there,” Carson said.“What you’re not gonna find with me is somebody who’s just going to sit back and let you be completely unfair without letting the American people ... know what’s going on. And the American people are waking up to your games."