Ben Carson Archives

Ben Carson’s at it again, rewriting black history.
But was this a case of stupidity or sophistry?
He tried to inspire folks at HUD,
But his comments fell flat — with a thud.
And how he transformed slaves into immigrants remains a mystery.

Carson: Slaves Were Immigrants, Too

March 7, 2017 Buck Banks

That’s what America is about. A land of dreams and opportunity. There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for less.

— Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, referring to slaves as “immigrants” dreaming of a better life in a talk with department employees, The Hill reports.

Carson to Endorse Trump

March 11, 2016 Buck Banks

There’s the Donald Trump that you see on television and who gets out in front of big audiences, and there’s the Donald Trump behind the scenes. They’re not the same person. One’s very much an entertainer, and one is actually a thinking individual.

— Ben Carson, on his intention to endorse Donald Trump Friday morning, the New York Times reports.

Ben Carson Raised More than His Opponents and Blew It on Consultants

March 7, 2016 Buck Banks

$58 million

Amount Ben Carson’s failed presidential campaign raised — more than any other GOP contender. “But Carson’s campaign burned through much more of that money on fundraising and consultants than on mass media advertising, on-the-ground employees and other things that could have swayed voters. … Ben Carson ran for president, and his consultants won,” the AP reports.

Carson Favors ‘Truth Serum’ Over Waterboarding

February 24, 2016 Buck Banks

I believe there are a number of ways to extract information. An average person might understand it as ‘truth serum’ — there are ways where you decrease a person’s conscious defenses, and they might be much more willing to give up information.

— Ben Carson, telling CNN he would use “medical ways” to put terrorists in a “less-than-conscious state” if he became president.

Carson Raises $2 Million for Not Doing Much

February 16, 2016 Buck Banks

$2 million

Amount Ben Carson Inc. has raised since the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, “a startling windfall for a campaign that finished a distant-fourth in Iowa and dead last among eight active contenders in New Hampshire,” Politico reports.

Trump’s Lead Falling Nationwide

February 4, 2016February 5, 2016 Buck Banks

9 points

Percentage Donald Trump is down since the last survey while Marco Rubio is up 8 points and Ted Cruz is up 3 points, according to a new Public Policy Polling national survey. Trump still leads the GOP presidential field with 25%, followed by Cruz and Rubio, both at 21% and Ben Carson at 11%.

4.5 million

$31,000

“Department of Housing and Urban Development officials spent $31,000 on a new dining room set for Secretary Ben Carson’s office in late 2017 — just as the White House circulated its plans to slash HUD’s programs for the homeless, elderly and poor,” the New York Times reports.

“I think poverty to a large extent is also a state of mind.”

— HUD Secretary Ben Carson, quoted by the Washington Post.

That’s what America is about. A land of dreams and opportunity. There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for less.

— Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, referring to slaves as “immigrants” dreaming of a better life in a talk with department employees, The Hill reports.

There’s the Donald Trump that you see on television and who gets out in front of big audiences, and there’s the Donald Trump behind the scenes. They’re not the same person. One’s very much an entertainer, and one is actually a thinking individual.

— Ben Carson, on his intention to endorse Donald Trump Friday morning, the New York Times reports.

$58 million

I believe there are a number of ways to extract information. An average person might understand it as ‘truth serum’ — there are ways where you decrease a person’s conscious defenses, and they might be much more willing to give up information.

— Ben Carson, telling CNN he would use “medical ways” to put terrorists in a “less-than-conscious state” if he became president.

$2 million

Amount Ben Carson Inc. has raised since the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, “a startling windfall for a campaign that finished a distant-fourth in Iowa and dead last among eight active contenders in New Hampshire,” Politico reports.

9 points

Percentage Donald Trump is down since the last survey while Marco Rubio is up 8 points and Ted Cruz is up 3 points, according to a new Public Policy Polling national survey. Trump still leads the GOP presidential field with 25%, followed by Cruz and Rubio, both at 21% and Ben Carson at 11%.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“He’s played through this really old entire playbook where there’s no floor for him in terms of how low he will go. And we should be prepared for that, we should be prepared for the fact that he is not burdened by telling the truth… I think he’s gonna lie.”

— Kamala Harris, on The Rickey Smiley Show, talking about what Donald Trump will do in the debate.

“I have never seen a candidate more determined to blow an election.”

— GOP pollster Frank Luntz, on X, on Donald Trump’s latest vow to use the power of government to imprison his political opponents.

“Cheney and I agree on nothing — no issues. But what we do believe in is that the United States should retain its democratic foundations …. I applaud the Cheneys for their courage in defending democracy.”

— Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), on Meet the Press.

“A series of tests confront Trump heading into Tuesday’s event, about self-discipline, knowledge, his age and acuity, his overall temperament, and how he deals with the issues of race and gender. For the past six weeks, he’s often been failing those tests.”

— Dan Balz

“Donald Trump has risen in the polls the more the people have reacted negatively to his treatment in the courtroom. And if the judge had gone ahead with this, it could have easily been the October surprise.”

— Karl Rove told Fox News that allowing sentencing to proceed in Donald Trump’s New York hush money case could have given Trump a boost in the polls.

Numerati

30%

A new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found 30% of registered voters said tonight’s debate will help them a great deal or good amount in making their selection for president. Roughly 69% said they do not think the event will help them very much or at all with their decision in November.

$1.3 billion

“The IRS has collected $1.3 billion from high wealth tax dodgers since last fall, the agency announced Friday, crediting spending that has ramped up collection enforcement through President Joe Biden’s signature climate, health care and tax package signed into law in 2022,” the AP reports.

46% to 45%

$48% to 43%

$25 million