Ted Cruz Won’t Punish Staffer For Spreading Carson Rumor

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) says he will not punish the staffer who spread a report that Ben Carson was dropping out of the race.

“I don’t make it a practice of disciplining people for passing on public news reports,” Cruz said on Mike Gallagher’s radio program.

According to The Hill:

Cruz reiterated that his political staff circulated a CNN report on Monday night during the caucus indicating Carson was returning to Florida instead of going to New Hampshire or South Carolina, the next primary states.

The Texas senator said that his aides did not circulate a follow-up report clarifying that Carson was simply returning home to Florida for a brief break from the campaign trail but was in fact continuing on with his presidential campaign.

“The news turned out to be accurate — he did indeed return to Florida. That was news that the voters were interested in,” Cruz said Wednesday, apologizing to Carson if his staff passing on the news report caused Carson “discomfort.”