Presidential Election

Politico's Story On Ben Carson And West Point Under Scrutiny

Politico faced some pushback after publishing a story that claimed Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson lied about admission to West Point.

Politico's Story On Ben Carson And West Point Under Scrutiny
Getty Images / Justin Sullivan

The outlet that claimed Ben Carson had admitted to fabricating a story about a scholarship has now changed its tune, following pushback from Carson’s camp and other outlets. 

Politico initially reported the U.S. Military Academy at West Point had no record of Carson applying or being offered admission, even though Carson wrote he was offered a “full scholarship” in his popular book “Gifted Hands.” (Video via The U.S. Military Academy at West Point

Carson’s camp hit back at the report, saying the Republican presidential candidate never claimed to have been admitted to West Point, never applied and added the campaign never “admitted to anything,” as Politico’s initial story suggested. 

In an interview with The New York Times, Carson said, "It was, you know, an informal 'with a record like yours we could easily get you a scholarship to West Point.'"

Politico later changed its headline from “Carson admits fabricating West Point scholarship” to “Exclusive: Carson claimed West Point 'scholarship' but never applied.”

As a note, West Point doesn’t offer “scholarships,” per se, but costs are covered for those who are admitted to the military academy. 

This video includes images from Getty Images.