--- title: Republican Debate: Ted Cruz , CNN and Ben Carson Fact Check description: The Iowa winner tries some damage control canonical: https://time.com/4210992/republican-debate-ted-cruz-cnn-ben-carson/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-07T05:18:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:41:05.689Z article:section: Politics og:title: Republican Debate: Ted Cruz , CNN and Ben Carson Fact Check og:description: The Iowa winner tries some damage control og:url: https://time.com/4210992/republican-debate-ted-cruz-cnn-ben-carson/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt130185b9475eb26a/69887c7c8e06010b064647ca/timepol-gop-republican-debate-new-hampshire-06.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: Republican U.S. presidential candidate Cruz and Carson discuss events between their campaigns during the Republican U.S. presidential candidates debate sponsored by ABC News at Saint Anselm College in Manchester og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Republican Debate: Ted Cruz , CNN and Ben Carson Fact Check twitter:description: The Iowa winner tries some damage control twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt130185b9475eb26a/69887c7c8e06010b064647ca/timepol-gop-republican-debate-new-hampshire-06.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ted Cruz Hides Truth With Debate Claim About Ben Carson Report > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=6f053394-c99f-42fa-a44d-2b2d540e5bd5&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Weekdays | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Weekly | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Twice a week | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | Source: TIME, August 2026. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=6f053394-c99f-42fa-a44d-2b2d540e5bd5&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=6f053394-c99f-42fa-a44d-2b2d540e5bd5&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (health, weekdays), Worth Your Time (culture, weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, twice weekly), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=6f053394-c99f-42fa-a44d-2b2d540e5bd5&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: ABC GOP Debate: Watch Cruz Apologize To Carson [Watch (HLS stream): ABC GOP Debate: Watch Cruz Apologize To Carson](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/adc8JaWp.m3u8) (2:17)  _Published 2016-02-07_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 7, 2016 5:18 AM UTC by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 7, 2016 5:18 AM UTC Faced with stinging criticism over an alleged dirty trick on the night of the Iowa caucuses, Sen. Ted Cruz placed the blame on a familiar foe: the news media. The Texas Republican argued at Saturday’s debate that CNN was responsible for the fact that his campaign staffers had said in emails and voicemails that retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson might be dropping out soon. “They reported that on television, CNN’s political anchors, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash and Wolf Blitzer, said it was highly unusual and highly significant,” Cruz said. “My political team saw CNN’s report breaking news and they forwarded that news to our volunteers, it was being covered on live television.” He then said that CNN “didn’t correct that story until 9:15 that night,” three hours later. But that’s not what happened, a fact that was quickly pointed out by several fact-checkers. PolitiFact, the Pulitzer-winning fact-checking website, [called that answer “highly misleading,”](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/feb/06/ted-cruz/ted-cruz-falsely-says-cnn-first-said-ben-carson-wa/) ranking it “false,” while the Washington _Post_ said Cruz was [“playing fast and loose”](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/03/ted-cruz-on-dirty-trick-against-ben-carson-it-was-actually-cnns-fault/) with the facts. In a statement, CNN [said Cruz’s debate response was “categorically false.”](https://twitter.com/mdornic/status/696154123109015553) “CNN never corrected its reporting because CNN never had anything to correct,” the CNN statement read. “The Cruz campaign’s actions the night of the Iowa caucuses had nothing to do with CNN’s reporting. The fact that Senator Cruz continues to knowingly mislead the voters about this is astonishing.” Here are the basic facts: A CNN reporter [tweeted](https://twitter.com/moody/status/694320149432651776) that Carson would be returning home to Florida after the Iowa caucuses instead of heading out to campaign in New Hampshire and South Carolina. During [an on-air segment on CNN](http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1602/01/se.01.html), Capitol Hill correspondent Dana Bash said that the move was “very unusual” because candidates typically want to show supporters that they’re “hungry” for the nomination by campaigning a lot. Shortly afterward, the Cruz campaign [sent a message to supporters](http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/02/04/cruz-carson-email-trump-iowa-cnn/) that said, “The press is reporting that Dr. Ben Carson is taking time off from the campaign trail after Iowa and making a big announcement,” while a voicemail sent to precinct captains said Cruz would be [“suspending campaigning.”](http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/04/politics/ted-cruz-ben-carson-iowa-voicemails/) A message sent on the campaign’s mobile app said, “CNN is reporting that Ben Carson will stop campaigning after Iowa.” As Politifact concluded, the Cruz campaign took a took a true piece of information from CNN, that Carson was flying to Florida instead of New Hampshire, and characterized it to suggest something false, that Cruz might not continue his campaign. In the debate, Carson noted that a campaign staffer [died in a car accident](http://time.com/4186527/why-ted-cruz-had-a-terrible-tuesday/) leading up to the Iowa caucuses. “I will say” Carson said, “that I was very disappointed that members of his team thought so little of me that they thought that after having hundreds, if not thousands of volunteers and college students who sacrificed their time and were dedicated to the cause—one even died—to think that I would just walk away ten minutes before the caucus and say, ‘Forget about you guys.'” ## Transcript [00:00] Ben is a good and honorable man. And Ben and Candy [00:03] have become friends He has an amazing life story that [00:07] has inspired millions including me. When this [00:10] transpired I apologized to him then and I do so now, [00:13] Ben, I'm sorry. Let me tell you the facts of what [00:17] occurred for those who are interested in knowing. On [00:19] Monday night about 6: 30 PM CNN reported that [00:24] Ben was not going from Iowa to New Hampshire or [00:27] South Carolina, rather he was quote taking a break [00:31] from campaigning. They reported that on television, [00:34] CNN's political anchors, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash [00:38] and Wolf Blitzer Said it was highly unusual and highly [00:42] significant. My political team saw CNN's report [00:47] breaking news, and they forwarded that news to our [00:50] volunteers. It was being covered on live television. Now [00:53] at the time, I was at the caucuses. I was getting ready [00:56] to speak at the caucuses, just like Ben was, just every [00:58] one else was. I knew nothing about this. A couple [01:01] hours later I found out about it. I was told that Ben was [01:04] unhappy. I called him that evening, because I respect [01:07] him very, very highly. I didn't reach him that evening. I [01:10] reached him the next day and apologized. He asked [01:13] me then, he said Ted would you make this apology in [01:15] public. I said yes I will. And I did so. I [01:20] regret that subsequently, CNN reported on it. They [01:23] didn't correct that story until 9: 15 that night. So from [01:26] 6: 30 PM to 9: 15, that's what CNN was reporting. [01:30] Subsequent to that initial report, Ben's campaign put [01:33] out a statement saying that he was not suspending his [01:36] campaign. I wish That our campaign staff had [01:40] forwarded, that statement they were unaware of it. I [01:43] wish that they had that's why I apologized. Senator [01:46] Cruz thank you. We're gonna move on here. Back to [01:49] issues. Since I was mentioned, in fact the timeline [01:53] indicates that initial tweet [01:58] From CNN, was followed by another one within one [02:01] minute that clarified that I was not dropping out. So, [02:05] what happened to that one it is unclear. But the bottom [02:09] line is we can see what happened, everybody can see [02:13] what happened. And you can make your own [02:15] judgement [ CROSSTALK ] Thank you Doctor. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4210992/republican-debate-ted-cruz-cnn-ben-carson/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4210992/republican-debate-ted-cruz-cnn-ben-carson/"},"headline":"Ted Cruz Hides Truth With Debate Claim About Ben Carson Report","datePublished":"2016-02-07T05:18:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-05T08:41:05.689Z","description":"The Iowa winner tries some damage control","url":"https://time.com/4210992/republican-debate-ted-cruz-cnn-ben-carson/","keywords":["ted cruz","2016 Election","Iowa","new hampshire","Dr. Benjamin S. Carson"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt130185b9475eb26a/69887c7c8e06010b064647ca/timepol-gop-republican-debate-new-hampshire-06.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt130185b9475eb26a/69887c7c8e06010b064647ca/timepol-gop-republican-debate-new-hampshire-06.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Republican U.S. presidential candidate Cruz and Carson discuss events between their campaigns during the Republican U.S. presidential candidates debate sponsored by ABC News at Saint Anselm College in Manchester","caption":"Republican presidential candidates Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Dr. Ben Carson speak during debate during a Republican presidential debate on Feb. 6, 2016 at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.","creditText":"Carlo Allegri—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/ted-cruz/","name":"ted cruz"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4210992/republican-debate-ted-cruz-cnn-ben-carson/","name":"Ted Cruz Hides Truth With Debate Claim About Ben Carson Report"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"ABC GOP Debate: Watch Cruz Apologize To Carson","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/adc8JaWp/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-02-07T05:10:22.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/adc8JaWp.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4210992/republican-debate-ted-cruz-cnn-ben-carson/","duration":"PT2M17S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4210992/republican-debate-ted-cruz-cnn-ben-carson/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```