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 The fallout from Trump's nasty broadside reverberated in Orlando
where Trump and Carson, the two front-runners, were among a host of
candidates speaking at the Florida Republican Party's Sunshine
Summit.
“I expect that kind of thing," Carson said in Greenville, S.C., when
asked about Trump's comments. "That's what's been going on in our
country for years... and I don't expect it to change any time soon
but I don't have to get into it.”
The day-long speechfest also put on display the increasing tensions
between two up-and-coming challengers for the 2016 Republican
presidential nomination, Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, who
clashed on Thursday over immigration.
Cruz, of Texas, had blasted Rubio, of Florida, as favoring amnesty
for illegal immigrants by sponsoring a 2013 legislative effort in
the Senate.
 Speaking to reporters in Orlando, Rubio said Cruz had supported a
legal pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants and promoted an
amendment to that effect, and now claims he did not.
"He bragged about how his amendment would bring people out of the
shadows," Rubio said. "He's changed his position. He has a right to
change his position."Rubio and Cruz were among the candidates
appearing in Orlando, along with three other candidates: Former
Florida Governor Jeb Bush, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and
former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
Trump, frustrated that Carson has stolen the lead from him in polls
of Iowa Republicans, launched a diatribe against the retired
neurosurgeon at a rally in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Thursday night. Iowa
will hold the first nominating contest on Feb. 1 on the road to the
November 2016 election.
Trump said Carson has a "pathological" temper, alluding to
compulsive behavior similar to that of a child molester.
"If you're pathological, there's no cure for that," Trump said. "If
you're a child molester, there's no cure. They can't stop you."
At one point, Trump flipped his belt buckle over to try to cast
doubt on a frequently cited anecdote from Carson, that he tried to
stab someone as a child but the person's belt buckle prevented
injury. Carson says the incident helped turn him to the Christian
faith.
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"Give me a break," Trump said. "How stupid are the people of Iowa?
How stupid are the people of the country to believe that crap?"
While Trump has made a number of outlandish statements with no
penalty from Republican voters, turning on Carson in such a bitter
way could mark a turning point for the New York mogul whose
take-charge attitude has kept him at the top of the polls for
months.
Trump kept up the attention on Carson's past with an Instagram video
showing TV footage of Carson talking about the knife incident. Words
on the screen say: "Violent criminal? Or pathological liar? We don't
need either as president."
Carson refused to respond in kind, in keeping with his generally
laid-back manner.
"It's up to the people of Iowa and they will decide if they want to
listen to the usual politics...or if they want to do something
different," he said.
Rubio, asked about Trump's comments about Iowa, said Iowa voters are
"some of the nicest" people in the country. Another Republican
candidate, Carly Fiorina, sounded off on Facebook about Trump's
comments early on Friday.
"Anyone can turn a multi-million dollar inheritance into more money,
but all the money in the world won't make you as smart as Ben
Carson," she said.
(Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert and Susan Heavey in
Washington; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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