gifted hands ben carson presidential candidate

Yet, Carson does acknowledge that he is trying to make a point when he speaks on the issues of the day. READ: Poll: Americans predict more gridlockĬarson dismisses those who criticize him for his remarks, and said they are just blowing them out of proportion. “In terms of appeal in a general election, there are comments he has made that can come back to haunt him,” she said. Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist, said that Carson is “certainly someone to be taken seriously,” in the GOP primary, but added that this does not necessarily transfer to the general election. “Obviously, it touched a chord with millions of people and I thought it would die down after a while, but instead of dying down it continued to build.” “I expected a reaction, but I didn’t expect it to be that profound, quite frankly,” Carson said of his remarks at the Prayer Breakfast. Carson became an instant political celebrity for conservatives. His speech was embraced by GOP activists and radio talk show hosts. I don’t see why he would be upset, unless what I said applied to him.’” I said, ‘I spoke to the president after the Prayer Breakfast and he was quite cordial and didn’t seem upset. If you don’t think that can happen to America, you get out your books and you start reading.”Ĭarson said 15 minutes after his remarks, organizers of the Prayer Breakfast called him and said the White House was “upset and that I needed to call and apologize. “Moral decay, fiscal irresponsibility,” Carson said during his speech. With Obama sitting just a few feet away, Carson warned that the U.S. played him in the 2009 made-for-television movie: “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story.” But his remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast in February 2013 catapulted him onto the national political stage. “That message really resonated.”Ĭarson is well known in the medical community – he’s a celebrated pediatric neurosurgeon – and Cuba Gooding, Jr. “It is like a breath of fresh air when he talks about not being politically correct and how he won’t be controlled by the ‘PC police’ and he will say what needs to be said,” Vander Plaats said. “He was very well received, and enthusiastically well received,” said Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of the organization, who noted Carson spoke to 900 attendees about pressing domestic concerns including cultural issues, foreign policy, and his disdain for political correctness. Carson recently appeared at an event for the Family Leader, an influential social conservative organization in Iowa. In a March interview with Breitbart, he compared the modern American government to Nazi Germany.Īnd at the 2013 Values Voters Summit, Carson said Obamacare is “the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery.”Ĭarson: Race relations have gotten worse under Obamaįor Carson, abandoning political correctness is a central element of his persona – and something that’s winning fans in the GOP base. He’s offered provocative commentary on a wide range of other issues, telling FOX News in May that the Veterans Affairs scandal was a “gift from God to show us what happens when you take layers and layers of bureaucracy and place them between the patients and the health care provider.” READ: The new threat: ‘Racism without racists’ “And I think that things have gotten worse because of his unusual emphasis on race.” “I actually believe that things were better before this president was elected,” he told radio broadcaster Hugh Hewitt. After last week’s violence in Ferguson, Missouri, Carson slammed President Barack Obama for contributing to poor race relations. That doesn’t mean he’s silent on the racial issues of the day. I just got so many more important things to do than to deal with that.” “If somebody has a problem with the way that I look, more power to them,” Carson said. But Carson is remarkably checked when asked about how, to this day, he deals with racism. He’s gaining traction as an African-American in a party that is struggling to connect with minority communities. Though his support only reached 10% in the poll, Carson outpaced more high-profile potential presidential contenders like former Florida Gov.

He placed second behind Mitt Romney in a CNN/ORC poll released Tuesday asking Republicans about their preferred presidential nominee in 2016. Nearly 50 years later, Carson – relatively unknown outside of conservative circles – is on the verge of becoming a political phenomenon.

Gifted hands ben carson presidential candidate