Creators will suspend Dr. Ben Carson's syndicated column in “about 30 days,” according to managing editor David Yontz, who told Media Matters the move follows Carson's description of himself as a presidential candidate in his latest column. Yontz said that Creators has removed the offending column from its website. 

In his March 25 column, which was reprinted in conservative outlets like The Washington Times, WND, and Townhall, Carson described the “learning curve of a candidate” and focused on how much he has “to learn in terms of becoming both a better candidate and a better potential president of the United States.” Given the many concrete steps Carson has taken towards mounting a presidential run, Media Matters reached out to Creators to inquire about Carson's status as a columnist, given that he was apparently open to using the space to publish pieces that read like campaign press releases.

“In his latest column, Ben Carson talks about what he would do as an official candidate for president of the United States,” Yontz said in an email to Media Matters Wednesday. “He ends the column by saying he wanted to communicate his thoughts as he 'consider(s) this monumental step.' But in the same column, he describes himself as a candidate for president. Consequently, we have decided to suspend syndication of the column, effective in about 30 days, until after he is no longer running for president, either officially or unofficially.”

Yontz said the syndicate will remove Carson's most recent column from its website because, “though the column was not an announcement and Dr. Carson is still in exploratory mode, we agree that the column was misleading.” 

Creators' move follows The Washington Times' decision earlier this month to drop Carson as a columnist after the formation of his exploratory committee and Fox News' move last fall to end its relationship with Carson after he released a campaign-style video “introducing himself to the American people.”

Yontz estimated the suspension will be completed in “about 30 days” because “it will take us some time to send letters to all of his subscribers.” He explained that, “For the next month, the column will be staying away from anything that could be perceived as campaign-related.”

Media Matters had initially reached out to Yontz in December after Fox News dropped Carson as a contributor. At that time, Yontz said, “he hasn't officially announced yet, it is looking likely he is going to run. But once he officially announces, we most likely will stop syndicating it, we just have to come up with a solution as to what to do, at that time.”

“We have 30-day agreements with the subscribers to Dr. Carson's column,” Yontz added Wednesday. “And we will also be offering alternative conservative columnists to his subscribers during this time period.”

He would not reveal how many clients take Carson's weekly syndicated column, but called it “substantial”

UPDATE: Carson responded to the Creators Syndicate news in a March 28 statement on Breitbart.com, writing: “While my words may not have been precise, be assured I have not declared my candidacy for president in any shape or form. I have been, and am still, exploring a candidacy as a possibility. In an effort to be straightforward  I did not follow each time the political protocol of qualifying my language with appropriate adjectives and caveats.”