Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell that the Republican Party’s rules of selecting delegates aren’t right, just as racist Jim Crow-era laws weren’t right either.
Mitchell asked Carson Friday about a memo from Republican National Committee communications director Sean Spicer that said, “The rules surrounding the delegate selection have been clearly laid out in every state and territory.”(RELATED: RNC Chair Hits Back At Trump After Claims Colorado GOP Convention Is ‘Rigged’)
Carson replied, “Yeah, well, you know, during the Jim Crow era, those were the rules too. They were written, everybody knew about them. Didn’t make them right. And I’m not saying this is the same, but you know, I think you get the point.” (RELATED: ‘Totally Unfair!’ — Trump Says Colorado Vote Was Hijacked By ‘Phony Politicians’)
“Just because rules are there, just because they’re written by somebody, doesn’t mean that they’re right. Doesn’t mean that you can’t re-review the system,” he continued. “There are a lot of things we need to look you know from a historical perspective.” (VIDEO: Trump Campaign: ‘Cruz Is Winning More Delegates Because Of Inferior Ideas’)
“Why do we need the electoral college anymore?” Carson asked. “Stop and ask yourself, ‘why was that put in place and do some same circumstances still apply?’ Actually, they do not. We need to start looking at a lot of different things.”
At the end of the interview, Mitchell asked Carson, “Earlier, you said to me that there have been, you know, ‘Jim Crow’ rules. You’re not suggesting that the Republican Party selection, delegate selection process is comparable to the Jim Crow south, are you?”
Carson replied, “Well, you did hear me say that I am not saying it’s comparable. Because I know that that’s the next headline. ‘Carson says Republican Party is —‘ I don’t know why the news media does that. They’re so dishonest, it’s so ridiculous.”