NYT, Carson fight over 'top' adviser's candid comments

By Becket Adams, Becket Adams

Published December 20, 2015

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The New York Times is standing by its reporting on 2016 GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson's supposed struggles with foreign policy, despite pushback from the retired neurosurgeon's campaign.

"Two of [Carson's] top advisers" told the Times that the Republican candidate is having trouble mastering details regarding national security issues and the many ongoing crises in the Middle East.

One "top adviser," former CIA agent Duane R. Clarridge, actually told Times reporter Trip Gabriel that, "Nobody has been able to sit down with him and have him get one iota of intelligent information about the Middle East."

The former intelligence official said Carson requires weekly foreign policy briefings so "we can make him smart."