WASHINGTON (Reuters) — U.S. presidential candidate Ben Carson recommended praying for rival Donald Trump after the real-estate mogul and television personality, in a 95-minute rant in Iowa, likened him to a child molester, Carson’s business manager said on Friday.

“When I spoke with Dr. Carson about this yesterday how we should respond, you know he was so sad about it. He said: “Pray for him.” He feels sorry for him because he really likes Mr. Trump,” Armstrong Williams, who often acts as Carson’s surrogate in the media, told CNN.

“To see him just imploding before our very eyes — it’s just sad to watch,” Williams said.

Speaking in Iowa on Thursday evening, Trump, a leading contender for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election, cast doubt on Carson’s oft-reported story of lunging at someone with a hunting knife as a child, an episode that Carson says led him to his Christian faith.

Read the article “Carson’s Comeback to Trump’s Insults: ‘Pray for Him’” on ca.news.yahoo.com.