Lots of contenders for biggest lie told during tonight's debate, but I'm going to cast my vote for Ben Carson saying he had nothing to do with bogus supplements maker Mannatech.
The exchange, verbatim, courtesy of Mother Jones:
QUINTANILLA: One more question. This is a company called Mannatech, a maker of nutritional supplements, with which you had a 10-year relationship. They offered claims that they could cure autism, cancer, they paid $7 million to settle a deceptive marketing lawsuit in Texas, and yet you're involvement continued. Why?
CARSON: Well, that's easy to answer. I didn't have an involvement with them. That is total propaganda, and this is what happens in our society. Total propaganda.
I did a couple of speeches for them, I do speeches for other people. They were paid speeches. It is absolutely absurd to say that I had any kind of a relationship with them.
Do I take the product? Yes. I think it's a good product.
QUINTANILLA: To be fair, you were on the homepage of their website with the logo over your shoulder --
CARSON: If somebody put me on their homepage, they did it without my permission.
QUINTANILLA: Does that not speak to your vetting process or judgment in any way.
CARSON: No, it speaks to the fact that I don't know those --
(AUDIENCE BOOS)
Even the National Review can't let that lie pass.
They've helpfully put up a video of Ben Carson endorsing the company and its products. Their conclusion:
Carson’s claim tonight that he has no relationship with the company is disingenuous horsepuckey.
LOL - I guess the National Review is now part of the "total propaganda".
Carson has said a lot of very stupid things before, but tonight he was demonstrably lying.