The morning after the third GOP debate, Ben Carson called for a change to the format of future debates after widespread criticism of CNBC’s handling of the event.
Carson made the porposal during a press conference at Colorado Christian University, adding that he has asked his team to reach out to other campaigns to lobby for format changes.”And we’re looking for an opportunity to actually be able to explain what your program is, what your philosophy for leadership is, and then be questioned about it,” Carson told the press.
Carson went on to say that it’s time to have “moderators who are interested in actually getting the facts,” as opposed to asking “gotcha questions.” He also said that candidates deserve longer answer times to individual questions.
In addition, Carson, who is fourth in the Washington Examiner‘s presidential power rankings, also lavished praise on Sen. Ted Cruz for calling out the debate moderators from the outset.
“I think the Cruz missile helped,” Carson said. “That was excellent. It was a good way to use a Cruz missile.”
The GOP front-runner also went on to dismiss questions about his relationship with Mannatech, a much-maligned nutritional supplement company. During the debate, CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla asked him about his involvement in the company, which Carson dismissed as “total propaganda.” Carson said it was an example of a “gotcha” question.
“Yes, the questions about Mannatech are definitely gotcha questions,” Carson said. “There’s no truth, and all they would have to do — ’cause I know people know how to investigate. They can easily go back and find out that I don’t have any formal relationships with Mannatech.”
Carson’s campaign has been floating debate changes since Wednesday night. In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Barry Bennett, Carson’s campaign manager, said the debate was “unfair to everyone,” adding that there needs to be a “wholesale change” to the debate format.
