Republican Presidential hopeful Ben Carson acknowledged that he had neither applied nor was accepted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
His tale about West Point had been part of the central plank in his personal narrative and was a key part of his 1996 autobiography "Gifted Hands," reported Fox News. The memoir details a 17-year-old Carson, who is a top ROTC officer from Detroit, dining with Gen. William Westmoreland, who had just finished his command in Vietnam in 1969. Carson claims Westmoreland had offered him a full scholarship but he turned it down since he want to be a doctor.
However, West Point officials, responding to a report published in Politico, revealed that not only was there no record of Carson ever gaining entry or receiving a scholarship offer, but there is not even any indication of him even applying to the military academy.
A West Point spokesperson said that while it was "certainly possible" that Carson spoke with the four-star general and was encouraged to apply, the academy has a rigorous entry process that would not have allowed Westmoreland to guarantee anyone entry. Additionally, there are no "full scholarships" to the academy.
Carson's campaign manager Barry Bennett responded in an email Friday saying that Carson did meet with Westmoreland and West Point officials but ultimately didn't seek the application.
"He was introduced to folks from West Point by his ROTC supervisors," Bennett said, according to Reuters. "They told him they could help him get an appointment based on his grades and performance in ROTC. He considered it but in the end did not seek admission."
Rival Donald Trump, who has been looking for a way to break ahead of Carson in the polls, relished the opportunity to attack the retired neurosurgeon on Twitter.
"@Robostop10: @realDonaldTrump This is not good. https://t.co/lvv0MRfgtH" WOW, one of many lies by Ben Carson! Big story.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2015
The revelation comes only a few hours after Carson attacked the media for what he called a "bunch of lies" as he was confronted on Friday about accounts of his alleged violent past.
