Bill O’Reilly: CNN ‘mostly to blame’ for Carson flap

Fox News host Bill O’Reilly on Wednesday weighed into the mounting controversy over speculation early this week that Ben Carson was ending his White House campaign.

“CNN mostly to blame for misreporting about Carson’s campaign in IA. That really hurt the Dr.,” O’Reilly tweeted, noting there’d be a “special report” on his show Wednesday night.

{mosads}Carson appeared on “The O’Reilly Factor” on Tuesday night, where he questioned the “culture” of Sen. Ted Cruz’s (Texas) campaign, which he described as dishonest and taking advantage of a political opportunity.

A CNN spokesperson defended the network’s coverage to The Hill, saying its correspondent reported the information provided by the Carson campaign.

“Dr. Carson’s staff informed CNN that he would return home to take a ‘deep breath’ before resuming his activities on the campaign trail. That information was reported accurately by CNN across TV and digital,” the spokesperson said in an email. 

The retired neurosurgeon also suggested that Cruz reprimand campaign staff for fanning speculation during the Iowa caucus Monday that Carson was ending his campaign, which Cruz dismissed.

The feuding escalated on Wednesday, with Carson holding a press conference in Washington, D.C., to bring attention to Cruz’s tactics in Iowa.

Cruz has said his staff circulated an initial CNN report to supporters saying Carson was taking a break from the campaign trail and wasn’t going on to the next primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina.

But his staff did not distribute a follow-up report clarifying that Carson was simply taking a brief break from the campaign trail and returning home to Florida, which his opponents have seized on to knock Cruz. 

CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin on Wednesday defended her network on air after Cruz continued to reference the initial CNN report, where the network reported that Carson was taking a “break” from campaigning.  

Cruz won the Iowa caucus on Monday night, while Carson came in fourth.

This story was updated at 5:01 p.m.