Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said in a podcast interview Tuesday night that traditional politicians and media have repeatedly "manipulated" black American voters over the years, reported The Hill.
"I think American blacks over the course of next year will begin to see that they've been manipulated very, very largely," the retired African-American neurosurgeon told radio host Mike Gallagher. "[It is] people telling them what they're supposed to think and what they're supposed to say. I believe that is a dynamic that is in the process of changing."
He continued: "More and more, I'm finding, are thinking for themselves and what works for themselves and their communities."
The soft-spoken Carson has grown increasingly vocal in recent weeks, resulting in a consistent upward trend in terms of his favorability and overall polling position, where he now sits in second place behind Donald Trump, though he has logged several statistical ties with the real estate mogul, according to the New York Daily News.
Carson also took aim at partisan bias found in the media, arguing that the political establishment uses the media to exert influence over various demographics.
"I long for the day when the media realizes that the reason that they're the only business that is protected by the Constitution is because it is intended to be for the people," he said. "They weren't supposed to pick sides, the Democratic side or the Republican side. You are supposed to be able to trust them. They take advantage of low-information individuals and people who won't investigate things for themselves."
Carson added that one of the most damaging issues facing American society and culture is divisive partisanship.
"One of the biggest things threatening our nation right now is divisiveness on all levels: gender, race, income, age, religion; they're driving wedges between the people," he said, according to Politico. "As a wise man once said, 'A house divided against itself cannot stand.'"
