Ben Carson

“There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for less. But they too had a dream that one day their [descendants] might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land.”

—Ben Carson, on slaves coming to America.

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Mar. 2, 2017 –

Practically scandal-free compared to the rest of Trumps cabinet, Ben Carson suffers more from a case of being completely-out-of-his-element. A retired neurosurgeon and author, Carson may be ignorant about most things outside his field (often profoundly so), and even has a history of bigoted statements (some which he has retracted or apologized for), but there is little to suggest he has conducted himself in a corrupt fashion as Secretary of HUD.

In fact, Ben Carson’s only claim to blatantly malevolent behavior – recalled in his book ‘Gifted Hands’, in which he tried to stab his friend but was thwarted by a belt buckle – may well just be a fabrication to bolster his personal-redemption narrative.

Estimated net worth (2016): $16,000,000

Notables

Carson suggesting homosexuality is a choice:

“Because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight — and when they come out, they’re gay. So, did something happen while they were in there? Ask yourself that question.”

Not only is homosexuality not a “choice”, there’s no evidence to even support the claim that ‘a lot’ of heterosexual people changed their orientation in prison.

Ben Carson: Many prisoners go in straight, come out gay | POLITIFACT (3.4.15)

Carson once suggested that Obamacare was a worse catastrophe Americans than 9/11 – an outrageous statement, topped only by comments he made about it in 2013 when he equated it to slavery: