Ben Carson is running second to Donald Trump in the polls in Iowa, and he doesn't agree with a Twitter statement Trump made in November about Barack Obama being the last black president.
"Sadly, because President Obama has done such a poor job as president you won't see another black president for generations!" Trump tweeted.
But Carson, who is black, told ABC's
"This Week" on Sunday he's been getting plenty of support from all over the country.
Carson didn't single out Trump, but said he's heard "a lot of people" make similar statements, which indicates to him that for those people "the color of one's skin was more important than the content of one's character."
But Carson said he doesn't believe that is true of most Americans.
"As I travel around the country, north south, east, west, humongous crowds, very enthusiastic," he said. "I don't get any indication that color means that much to them."
Carson said his comments to Fox News last week that human life definitely begins when there is a heartbeat were not meant to indicate that he believes that.
"What I believe is life starts at conception," he said. He also deferred questions about exceptions to abortion for rape and incest.
"What I have said, I have spent my life trying to save life not destroy it," he said.
On the foreign policy front, Carson said U.S. ground troops may end up being necessary in Iraq to fight Islamic State (ISIS) militants.
A Middle East coalition will have to fight ISIS he said, but the initial moves will have to come from the United States.