Don’t tell me that Dr. Ben Carson didn’t know exactly which dog whistle he was blowing when he told Politico that President Obama was “raised white” and “didn’t grow up like I grew up.” But when asked about it by Megyn Kelly, Carson started attacking the media’s “ridiculous analysis.”

Here’s the relevant part of the Politico article:

“He’s an ‘African’ American. He was, you know, raised white,” said the world-renowned neurosurgeon, whose single mother worked three jobs – and occasionally relied on government aid – to elevate Carson and his older brother from the grinding poverty of ghetto life.

“I mean, like most Americans, I was proud that we broke the color barrier when he was elected, but … he didn’t grow up like I grew up … Many of his formative years were spent in Indonesia. So, for him to, you know, claim that, you know, he identifies with the experience of black Americans, I think, is a bit of a stretch.”

The next day, on MSNBC, Carson doubled down:

”The fact of the matter is he did not grow up in black America, he grew up in white America, doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just that when the claim is made that he represents the black experience, it’s just not true.”

MSNBC reporter Jane C. Timm further noted:

Carson long dismissed questions about race as divisive and downplayed his own race, but in recent weeks he’s dug into race as a campaign issue, running ads against affirmative action in South Carolina and condemning black crime as “a crisis” that only he knows how to overcome.

Timm also pointed out that last fall, Rupert Murdoch tweeted, “Ben and Candy Carson terrific. What about a real black President who can properly address the racial divide? And much else.”

It’s ironic that after Fox News has spent so much time smearing Obama as too black, now Carson is promoting the idea that Obama’s not black enough.

During her town hall last night, Kelly told Carson that "some well-known African American commentators" suggested that his comments play "into a narrative that there is some sort of correct or legitimate way of doing blackness, of being black.”

Carson’s reply was, basically, “Moi?”

CARSON: My response is that that’s hogwash. Basically, in the conversation, and a transcript is available, I said that his experience in growing up is vastly different than most African Americans. And I don’t know who could really argue with that. You know, he was raised by his white grandparents in Hawaii, in a very affluent area in a private school.

Kelly’s pushback was just as lame. “But he looks black.” Not “Obama identifies as black” or, more importantly, asking why his unusual upbringing should matter.

Carson continued doubling down while pretending he had been misunderstood.

CARSON: And he – formative years were spent in Indonesia. …From 10-14. Those are formative years. With his white mother. Now, for anybody to tell me that that’s a typical black experience [the crowd laughed and applauded], you know, it’s basically the media doing what they always do.

You know, they take a simple statement that I made and they say, “So therefore, he’s saying that it’s bad to be raised white, so that’s a racist statement and he’s saying that there’s some other racism against blacks” and on and on they go with their, you know, just ridiculous analysis which is only for one purpose and that’s to try to ridicule me and to drive wedges. They do it all the time. People ought to be used to it by now.

You may recall that Kelly has swooned over Carson’s prior claim to reject “all of this victimization” in our culture. But rather than challenge this obvious victim card from Carson now, she changed the subject.

Watch it below, from the February 24 The Kelly File.