Ben Carson Says He Was Asked To Apologize For Speech ‘Offending’ Obama

The White House was reportedly upset when Dr. Ben Carson decried President Barack Obama’s agenda in a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast last year and requested an apology, according to Carson’s forthcoming book.

According to an advance copy of the retired neurosurgeon and Fox News contributor’s upcoming book “One Nation: What We Can All Do To Save America’s Future,” obtained by the Daily Caller, Carson was asked to apologize for “offending” the President despite receiving cordial thanks from Obama for his participation in the event.

“He did not appear to be hostile or angry, but within a matter of minutes after the conclusion of the program, I received a call from some of the prayer breakfast organizers saying that the White House was upset and requesting that I call the president and apologize for offending him,” Carson wrote, as quoted by the Daily Caller. “I said that I did not think that he was offended and that I didn’t think that such a call was warranted.”

The rising conservative star added that even though commentators said Obama looked uncomfortable during his speech, his comments had been directed at the American people rather than the President.

Obama approached Carson to shake his hand and thank him for participating at the conclusion of the event, he wrote. That’s consistent with what he told TheBlaze last year when asked how the President reacted to his speech.

“I was kind of surprised, because I figured he would just be fuming,” Carson said at the time. “But he probably figured that’s what everyone figured and he knew people were watching.”

TPM has reached out to the White House and will update when we hear back.

This post has been updated.