Donald Trump took direct aim at his current main opponent Ben Carson, unleashing personal attacks about material in Carson’s memoir “Gifted Hands” twice on Thursday.
Citing how Carson described his own temper as “pathological” at one point in the book, Trump said during an interview on CNN, “That’s a big problem, because you don’t cure that.” Trump then added the example of something else he considered pathological: “Child molesting.”
“You don’t cure these people. You don’t cure a child molester. There’s no cure for it. Pathological, there’s no cure for that,” he repeated. Trump lobbied the attack as Carson, the front-runner in Iowa, pulls ahead of him in some national polls.
At a campaign rally in Iowa, Trump also called Carson out on his account of attempting to stab somebody, to have the knife blocked by the person’s belt buckle.
“He took a knife and he went after a friend,” Trump said, according to the New York Times. “He lunged that knife into the stomach of his friend. But, lo and behold, it hit the belt. It hit the belt, and the knife broke. Give me a break.” He then demonstrated with his own belt why that would be improbable.
“How stupid are the people of Iowa? How stupid are the people of the country to believe this crap?” Trump then asked the crowd at the Iowa rally.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Where Trump 2.0 Will Differ From 1.0
- How Elon Musk Became a Kingmaker
- The Power—And Limits—of Peer Support
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- Column: If Optimism Feels Ridiculous Now, Try Hope
- The Future of Climate Action Is Trade Policy
- FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com