Presidential candidate Ben Carson is lashing out at the media mischaracterizing his recent statements on the use of drones to enforce border security.
When speaking on the topic of immigration enforcement, Carson stated, “We can use a whole series of things to do that, not just fences and walls but electronic surveillance, drones and many of the techniques that are used to keep people out of top secret places.”
Despite the qualifier about “electronic surveillance,” this did not prevent publications from running headlines such as, “Ben Carson Wants to Use Drones on Illegal Immigrants (UPDATE: 'one drone strike, boom, and [they're] gone').”
Carson appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday in order to clarify his statements regarding the use of drones for immigration enforcement.
Asked whether he would use drone strikes on the border, Carson replied,
“It was quite clear what I was talking about. I said that drones are excellent for surveillance. You know, along that border, we have miles and miles of fences and you know, I went there last week and didn’t see any border control people, and those fences are so easy to scale. It’s almost like not having a fence there. So drones can help with the surveillance. In no way did I suggest that drones be used to kill people. And I said that to the media at the time. I said, ‘You guys, some of you are going to go out and say Carson wants to use drones to kill people on the borders.’ How ridiculous. At some point I hope we have some responsible media which actually focuses on the problem: we have a huge security risk there.”
Carson also explained his remarks regarding using drones to “eliminate” caves: “Listen. Read my lips. Read my lips. Listen very carefully to what I’m saying. I said there are caves that they utilize. Those caves can be eliminated. There are a number of possibilities. That could be one of them. I’m not talking about killing people. No people with drones.”