Only one day into the "exploratory" phase of his presidential campaign, Ben Carson had a media meltdown starting with remarks he made on CNN's morning show Wednesday.
When "New Day" host Chris Cuomo asked Carson if he thought homosexuality was a choice, the retired Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon said "absolutely."
His evidence for that belief?
"A lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight -- and when they come out, they're gay. So, did something happen while they were in there? Ask yourself that question," Carson said.
The 63-year-old GOP candidate then went on Sean Hannity's radio show Wednesday afternoon and said he was through talking about his views of homosexuality.
"Here's the point: I believe in traditional marriage between a man and a woman. I also believe that our Constitution protects everybody regardless of their beliefs, and that includes people who are gay," Carson said.
"I simply have decided I'm not going to really talk about that issue anymore because every time I'm gaining momentum, the political press says, 'Let's talk about gay rights.' And I'm just not going to fall for that anymore," Carson added.
But then, at the end of the day, he did talk about it some more, issuing an apology for what he said on CNN.
"I realized that my choice of language does not reflect fully my heart on gay issues," Carson said in a statement on Facebook.
"I do not pretend to know how every individual came to their sexual orientation. I regret that my words to express that concept were hurtful and divisive. For that I apologize unreservedly to all that were offended," he added.
Carson added that science is uncertain on the issue of whether homosexuality is a choice.
The American Psychological Association, however, says that sexual orientation is likely caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, and is not a choice.
Carson did the poor-choice-of-words apology before - in 2013 after he compared homosexuality to "bestiality," comments that resulted in him stepping down as speaker at the graduation of Hopkins medical students after a protest was planned.
Kudos to CNN's Cuomo for a strong interview - one of the first done outside the friendly confines of Fox News, which showcased Carson as a paid contributor to its prime-time shows before he stepped down in November to start "exploring" a presidential candidacy.
There was nothing "gotcha" about the question. It was a straightforward query about what a candidate for the highest office in the land believed about homosexuality. If he can't handle such questions better than this, he's going to have a very hard time when the campaigning gets real.
It's hard to walk a back a one word statement when the word is "absolutely." What part of that is ambiguous?
You can read Carson's full statement on Facebook here.