--- title: Ben Carson Backs Down From Claim New Jersey Celebrated 9/11 description: Ben Carson walked back from defending Donald Trump's claim that "thousands" of Muslim people in New Jersey celebrated 9/11 canonical: https://time.com/4125325/ben-carson-donald-trump-muslims-9-11/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-23T23:53:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T12:52:03.145Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ben Carson Backs Down From Claim New Jersey Celebrated 9/11 og:description: He now says he saw footage of people celebrating in the Middle East og:url: https://time.com/4125325/ben-carson-donald-trump-muslims-9-11/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8faf5377e27dcae/6988726ccd1bba18736fe3ce/ben-carson10.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Ben Carson speaks to guests at a barbeque hosted by Jeff Kauffman, chairman of the Republican party of Iowa in Wilton, Iowa on Nov. 22, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ben Carson Backs Down From Claim New Jersey Celebrated 9/11 twitter:description: He now says he saw footage of people celebrating in the Middle East twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd8faf5377e27dcae/6988726ccd1bba18736fe3ce/ben-carson10.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ben Carson Backs Down From Claim New Jersey Muslims Celebrated 9/11  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Nov 23, 2015 11:53 PM UTC  Ben Carson speaks to guests at a barbeque hosted by Jeff Kauffman, chairman of the Republican party of Iowa in Wilton, Iowa on Nov. 22, 2015. Ben Carson speaks to guests at a barbeque hosted by Jeff Kauffman, chairman of the Republican party of Iowa in Wilton, Iowa on Nov. 22, 2015.Scott Olson—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Nov 23, 2015 11:53 PM UTC Ben Carson initially jumped to fellow presidential candidate Donald Trump’s defense when Trump said Sunday he [saw “thousands” of people](http://time.com/4123736/donald-trump-911-arabs/) in New Jersey celebrating right after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. But Carson has since walked back his comment. “I saw the film of it, yes,” Carson [told reporters Monday](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ben-carson-muslims-cheering%5F56536d9ae4b0879a5b0bf92f) of Trump’s claim that thousands in New Jersey, where Trump said there are “large Arab populations,” were celebrating the fall of the Twin Towers. But in a statement provided to TIME, Carson’s campaign clarified that the former neurosurgeon was remembering footage of the Middle East, not of New Jersey: --- > “” --- Trump, however, isn’t backing down, even demanding an apology from the Washington _Post_: Via [@washingtonpost](https://twitter.com/washingtonpost?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) 9/18/01\. I want an apology! Many people have tweeted that I am right! [pic.twitter.com/wrDEhXJlvR](https://t.co/wrDEhXJlvR) — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [November 23, 2015](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/668867262456156160?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw) [The _Post_ gave Trump](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/11/22/donald-trumps-outrageous-claim-that-thousands-of-new-jersey-muslims-celebrated-the-911-attacks/?postshare=1341448300475033&tid=ss%5Ftw) a “four Pinocchio” rating when it fact-checked his statement, saying, “This appears to be another case of Trump’s overactive imagination.” **Read Next:** [_Trump Draws Criticism For Saying ‘Thousands’ in New Jersey Celebrated 9/11_](http://time.com/4123736/donald-trump-911-arabs/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4125325/ben-carson-donald-trump-muslims-9-11/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4125325/ben-carson-donald-trump-muslims-9-11/"},"headline":"Ben Carson Backs Down From Claim New Jersey Muslims Celebrated 9/11","datePublished":"2015-11-23T23:53:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:52:03.145Z","description":"He now says he saw footage of people celebrating in the Middle East, not New Jersey","url":"https://time.com/4125325/ben-carson-donald-trump-muslims-9-11/","keywords":["2016 Election topic","Donald Trump","Dr. Benjamin S. 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