Conservative commentator Glenn Beck has
declared Ben Carson's presidential career over after he stated that
prison sex proves that being gay is a choice.
During an appearance on CNN's New
Day, Carson, a possible GOP presidential candidate, said that
prison can make people gay.
“Absolutely,” Carson answered when
asked if being gay is a choice. “Because a lot of people go into
prison straight and when they come out they're gay.”
(Related: Ben
Carson opposed to marriage equality because some inmates turn gay in
prison.)
Later in the day, Carson apologized for
the remark and vowed he would no longer talk about gay rights.
“Goodbye to his presidential career,”
Beck
told his radio listeners on Friday. “It's over. It's over.
There is no way to recover from that. That just sounds like a
lunatic. … That is a ridiculous statement on a million fronts. A
ridiculous statement.”
“It's not just that he didn't see
[the question] coming,” Beck added. “It's that he just thought
that was a good answer. That was good enough for him. Just
[imagine] I'm at a cocktail party and I'm talking to a friend and
they say 'well yeah, you know, you go to prison and you're straight,
you get out and you're gay,' don't you look at your friend – I
don't care if he's the guy who works at the 7-Eleven and he's not
running for president ever – don't you go, 'That's the dumbest
thing I've ever heard'?”