海角大神

Donald Trump on Wednesday fellow presidential candidate Ben Carson鈥檚 about the Oregon shooting, tweeting that the retired neurosurgeon was "speaking in general terms" when he urged victims to attack their assailant,聽and was not criticizing the victims.

The move marks a shift from how Mr. Trump responded to his closest rival's last big brush with controversy, when Mr. Carson last month said that he would聽聽for president.聽Most of the GOP field distanced themselves from that remark, and so did Trump. "Anybody that is able to win an election will be absolutely fine," he said.

Carson says that his comment on a Muslim in the White House was a big boost with fundraising, and Trump's remarks on Mexican immigrants as rapists appeared to drive his poll numbers higher.

Trump's comments Wednesday supporting Carson were unusual for a man who聽tends to attack when an opponent is down. But the two are tied by their embrace of their political inexperience and their ability to connect with many conservatives on contentious issues such as religion, immigration, and gun control.聽

鈥淭here are many similarities in that they are both appealing to angry voters,鈥� says Henry Olsen, an expert on conservative politics and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington. 鈥淭hey resonate among 鈥� those who are most angry about the way things are.鈥�

Indeed, Carson's statements defending gun rights in the face of the Oregon shootings in many ways echoed Trump's own platform. Trump has cast himself as a , and by supporting Carson Wednesday, he was also burnishing his gun rights credentials among conservative voters who agree with Carson.

In that way, Trump's comments might have been more about positioning himself on gun rights than supporting Carson.聽

The two have the most overlap among evangelical 海角大神s, some of whom appreciate Trump鈥檚 blunt, in-your-face attitude. 鈥淸H]e tells it like it is, and he exudes honesty and transparency ... he鈥檚 the kind of person who is not going to deceive us,鈥澛爐he Rev. James Linzey, 聽a retired Army chaplain and vocal leader among some conservative Evangelicals,聽told the Monitor's Harry Bruinius,

Carson, too, 鈥渋s obviously sincere, and his faith predates his involvement in politics,鈥� says Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif.聽

Polls vary regarding who鈥檚 ahead, but narrowly: In the most recent , Trump received 25 percent of the evangelical 海角大神 vote, while Carson was just behind at 21 percent.

None of this means that Carson or Trump聽will maintain his top聽standing in the polls into the primaries. As Geoffrey Skelley, a political analyst for the University of Virginia Center for Politics, points out, 鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about polls in October 2015. The primaries are an eternity away.鈥�

And if history is any indication, the Republican electorate will turn to stable, traditional, conservative candidates once the elections draw closer, says Olsen. 鈥淩epublican voters 鈥� flock to stability,鈥� he says.

Still, Trump and Carson鈥檚 current lead reflects 鈥渁 tremendous frustration with American politics, across the board,鈥� says Mr. Pitney. And that, he says, is something that establishment candidates ought to learn from both Trump and Carson鈥檚 early success as the primary season inches forward.

鈥淒on鈥檛 go overboard in stressing your experience 鈥� this is a year in which that kind of talk could be fatal,鈥� Pitney notes. Instead, 鈥渄emonstrate your competence. That will make a candidate... a president.鈥�