--- title: Ben Carson Says Confederate Flag is OK on Private Property description: Carson called the decision to fly the flag a "local issue" during a photo-op with NASCAR legend Richard Petty. canonical: https://time.com/4054246/ben-carson-confederate-flag-private-property/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-29T18:06:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T11:21:56.347Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ben Carson Says Confederate Flag is OK on Private Property og:description: Carson called the decision to fly the flag a "local issue" og:url: https://time.com/4054246/ben-carson-confederate-flag-private-property/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc046fbf0e65af645/698865f50b72e332dd6e610f/ben-carson6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Ben Carson, Richard Petty og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ben Carson Says Confederate Flag is OK on Private Property twitter:description: Carson called the decision to fly the flag a "local issue" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc046fbf0e65af645/698865f50b72e332dd6e610f/ben-carson6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ben Carson Says Confederate Flag Is OK on Private Property > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Sep 29, 2015 6:06 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson listens to NASCAR legend Richard Petty during a tour of the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C., Sept. 28, 2015. Republican presidential candidate, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson listens to NASCAR legend Richard Petty during a tour of the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C., Sept. 28, 2015. Chuck Burton—AP by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Sep 29, 2015 6:06 PM UTC Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson[ told NASCAR fans](http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/story/ben-carson-republican-candidate-says-confederate-flag-ok-on-private-property-092815) that flying the Confederate flag was fine as long as it’s displayed on private property at an event Monday with racing legend Richard Petty. NASCAR was at the center of controversy this summer, when race fans continued to fly the Confederate flag after black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C. were massacred by a white man. Carson labeled the decision the decision to fly the flag “a local issue,” while Petty dismissed debate over the flag as a “passing fancy.” “Swastikas are a symbol of hate for some people, too. And yet they still exist in museums and places like that,” Carson told the Associated Press. “If it’s a majority of people in that area who want it to fly, I certainly wouldn’t take it down.” Carson, the only African-American candidate in a crowded GOP field, was making a stop in Randleman, N.C. to receive an informal endorsement from former NASCAR driver Richard Petty. “We’re hoping he’s endorsing the camp, we’re not necessarily endorsing him, but we are—you know what I mean?” Petty told the AP, in his trademark cowboy hat and sunglasses. An endorsement from a NASCAR legend lends Carson some credibility in the South, even if Petty did not full commit. The Southern states will play a key role in deciding the 2016 Republican presidential nominee. \[[_AP_](http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/story/ben-carson-republican-candidate-says-confederate-flag-ok-on-private-property-092815)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4054246/ben-carson-confederate-flag-private-property/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4054246/ben-carson-confederate-flag-private-property/"},"headline":"Ben Carson Says Confederate Flag Is OK on Private Property","datePublished":"2015-09-29T18:06:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:21:56.347Z","description":"Carson called the decision to fly the flag a \"local issue\" during a photo-op with NASCAR legend Richard Petty","url":"https://time.com/4054246/ben-carson-confederate-flag-private-property/","keywords":["Dr. Benjamin S. 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