Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson held two fundraisers in San Diego County Nov. 17, one at a popular La Jolla restaurant.
Carson’s lunch date with supporters at Donovan’s Steak & Chop House in La Jolla brought in a reported $100,000. Later, Carson was taking his campaign to Rancho Santa Fe for another fundraiser.
Bonnie Kane was part of the lunch crowd in La Jolla and afterward raved about Carson.
“He’s honest, he’s truthful; and that’s a phenomenon we haven’t had the last few years,” Kane told a local television outlet.
Supporters at the lunch said they believe Carson can carry California in the 2016 election despite no Republican having carried California since George H.W. Bush’s 1988 election. Bush soundly defeated Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis that year.
After lunch, Carson met quickly with reporters, restating his belief that President Obama is wrong to promote the idea of the nation taking in thousands of Syrian refugees. Carson said there’s a good chance “radical jihadists” are among those fleeing Syria.
“There isn’t a very good vetting process. Therefore, we should not bring them in,” Carson said.
He pointed to last Friday’s deadly terrorist attacks in Paris as an example of what could happen in the United States if refugees are insufficiently screened.
Carson wants the United States to help the “millions” of refugees along the Syria-Turkey border and get them resettled in that area instead of bringing them into America.
Carson also criticized media coverage of his campaign. He reportedly has been uncomfortable with the portrayal of him not being forthcoming.
– FOX 5