Ben Carson says he was "very disappointed" campaign workers for rival GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz emailed false news that Carson was dropping out of the race prior to the Iowa caucus, calling it a "good example of a certain kind of Washington ethics."
In a sharply worded rebuke of the Iowa caucus winner at the ABC News-sponsored debate Saturday night, Carson declared: "My ethics is you do what's right."
"I will not use the opportunity to savage Ted Cruz," Carson said. "I will say I was very disappointed that members of his team thought so little of me… to think I would walk away" from volunteers who had worked for him, including one young volunteer who died in a car crash.
"It gives us a very good example of a certain kind of Washington ethics. That's not my ethics."
Members of
Cruz's campaign said they erroneously interpreted a CNN story that Carson was flying back to his home in Florida after the caucuses to mean that he was dropping out of the race.
Cruz responded to Carson's moving response with an apology.
"When this transpired, I apologized then and I do so now," he said. "Ben, I'm sorry."
Carson replied that an initial tweet about Carson dropping out of the race was "followed by another one within a minute that I was not dropping out."
"The bottom line," Carson said, "You can make your own judgment."
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