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Carson's Vitamin Endorsement Problem


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2015 Oct 30, 12:48pm   1,500 views  7 comments

by MisdemeanorRebel   ➕follow (12)   💰tip   ignore  

In Wednesday's CNBC Republican presidential debate, Ben Carson was asked about his involvement with Mannatech, a dietary supplement maker.

In 2009, Mannatech settled for $7 million following a lawsuit brought by the Texas attorney general over the company's claims that its products could cure cancer and autism. CNBC moderator Carl Quintanilla claimed Carson had a 10-year-long connection with the company and that it continued even after the settlement.

Carson denied the accusation, saying, "That is total propaganda ... I did a couple speeches for them, I do speeches for other people, they were paid speeches. It is absolutely absurd to say that I had any kind of relationship with them."

Carson's statement directly contradicts promotional material that came from Mannatech, as well as his own business manager Armstrong Williams, who described Carson's relationship to the company in an interview Thursday on "The Lead with Jake Tapper."

Williams defended his boss, suggesting that while Carson did have a relationship to the company, the retired neurosurgeon didn't realize all of the details of his endorsement up front and wanted out of the deal.

"He said 'I don't believe in this. I'm not going to do it,'" Williams said, recalling negotiations with the company over the endorsement. "When that was over, he made it clear to me, 'You need to get me out of this, I'm not going to do this again,' and it was over.'"

The Wall Street Journal this month reported on Carson's connection with Mannatech, saying Carson has said he has taken the company's supplements for more than a decade.

The WSJ also cited a 2004 video of Carson speaking at a Mannatech event. In the video, he credited the company's products for his prostate cancer diagnosis symptoms disappearing. The paper points out that Carson is now "cancer-free after surgery."

The WSJ reports Carson has appeared in videos that were on Mannatech's website until earlier this month. The videos were removed soon after the Journal's reporting. The paper also reported that Carson gave four paid speeches at company events; the most recent was in 2013 for which Carson was paid $42,000.

Carson's campaign manager, Barry Bennett, told the WSJ Carson is a "believer in vitamins and supplements."


http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/29/politics/ben-carson-mannatech/

#Politics #Election

Comments 1 - 7 of 7        Search these comments

1   mell   2015 Oct 30, 3:31pm  

Not that I care much about it, but if this is the most dirt one can find on Carson then that's utterly weak sauce. So he endorsed a company that is selling vitamins and making excessive claims. When does Hillary go to prison again, and when is Obummer following suit?

2   Shaman   2015 Oct 30, 4:43pm  

In agree with mell. Not much of a dirt bath there. If you want to criticize Carson then you should talk about his totally nonsensical take on the issues. His idea of public policy regarding important things like taxes and trade and healthcare are so immature as to put him as the complete political novice that he is. Even if his heart is in the right place, his advisors would spend half their time explaining why up does not actually mean down and then the rest of their time trying to convince him that he shouldn't try to legislate it that way.
Go check out his policies on his website: it's good for a laugh.

3   CL   2015 Oct 30, 5:23pm  

Wait, so his idea about taxing GDP won't work?

Also, can't we criticize him for both idiocy and cashing in on idiocy?

4   MisdemeanorRebel   2015 Oct 30, 6:03pm  

Quigley says

Go check out his policies on his website: it's good for a laugh.

Thanks for the tip, I just did. There's no way this guy can win a general election.

Man, he's a loon. His flat tax would have to be about 20% of the entire economy just to support the Federal Government.

The reason to bring up his Vitamin stuff is that as a Doctor, he strongly implied taking vitamins was somehow key to recovering from prostate cancer.

5   HEY YOU   2015 Oct 31, 9:04am  

I can't believe the electorate put Obama back in office after he allowed 9/11 to happen on American soil.

6   HydroCabron   2015 Oct 31, 9:18am  

HEY YOU says

I can't believe the electorate put Obama back in office after he allowed 9/11 to happen on American soil.

People never learn.

Look at how they put Clinton in office after he ordered the killings at Ruby Ridge.

7   HydroCabron   2015 Oct 31, 9:20am  

I don't see the problem here. Did Carson accept honoraria for speaking or something?

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