Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson on Tuesday stood by his comment that President Obama was "raised white," suggesting that he wasn't criticizing the president.

"He did not grow up in black America, he grew up in white America," Carson said during an interview Tuesday with MSNBC host Thomas Roberts in Las Vegas.

"Doesn't mean there's anything wrong with that," continued Carson, who is also black. "It's just that when the claim is made that he represents the black experience, it's just not true."

The retired neurosurgeon told Politico for a story published Tuesday that his upbringing in Detroit was "night and day" from that of Obama's, who he noted spent "many of his formative years" 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," Carson said. 

Carson finished last among six candidates in the South Carolina primary on Saturday and is in Nevada on Tuesday for the GOP caucuses; he insists he isn't leaving the GOP race any time soon.

"Read the story of the tortoise an the hare, and understand that this is a marathon, not a sprint," he said on MSNBC, arguing that he isn't staying in the race out of "personal ambition."