Ben Carson raises eyebrows with 'fruit salad' comment at debate

Feb. 25, 2016:Republican presidential candidate, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson takes a question in the Spin Room after a Republican presidential primary debate at The University of Houston (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson delivered one of the most-quoted lines of Thursday's night's debate when asked what he would look for in a potential nominee for the Supreme Court.

In response to the question from moderator Hugh Hewitt, the retired neurosurgeon said he would "go through and I would look at what a person's life has been. What have they done in the past? What kind of judgments have they made? What kind of associations do they have? That will tell you a lot more than an interview will tell you."

Then Carson closed his answer by saying, "The fruit salad of their life is what I will look at."

The comment drew an immediate reaction on social media, and became a trending topic on Twitter almost immediately.

In a debate marked by fiery exchanges among the other four candidates, Carson was often left trying to get a word edgewise, at one point asking "Can somebody attack me, please?"

Later, he complained, "I didn't get asked about taxes, I didn't get asked about Israel." When all five were asked about North Korea's president, he said, "We should make sure that he knows that if he ever shoots a missile at us it'll be the last thing he does."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.