Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson defended the president on Wednesday against accusations of racism, and himself against criticism, urging those making the accusations to "act like adults."

"We need to turn down the heat, turn down the volume here and start acting like adults. You know, running around calling people names rather than discussing the real issues. Now this is not about Donald Trump and what he said," Carson said on "The Story with Martha MacCallum."

TRUMP SAYS BERNIE SANDERS SHOULD ALSO BE LABELED 'RACIST' FOR CALLING BALTIMORE A 'THIRD-WORLD COUNTRY'

Carson was responding to criticism from "View" co-host Sunny Hostin, who called the president racist and specifically called out Carson for being "complicit." This, in connection with President Trump's feud with Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and the city of Baltimore.

"When you are silent in the face of racism, you are complicit in that racism and I strongly believe that," Hostin said this week on "The View." "I'm calling out Ben Carson, who spent the majority of his career in West Baltimore."

"Where is Ben?"

Carson said the focus should be on conditions in Baltimore, and the people who are suffering.

"By evoking all of these names and acting like children, we defocus the attention from where it should be," Carson told guest host Bill Hemmer.

Carson defended Trump, saying he's not a racist and that he is concerned with "poor people" in America but hesitant to speak about it because it will "reinterpreted" as racist."

"Bad people don't spearhead prison reform. You know, they don't work on programs like Opportunity Zones where you can bring cash into places that have been economically neglected for decades. ... They don't ... sign an executive order to remove barriers to affordable housing and a whole list of other things," Carson said. "These are not the acts of a racist."

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