Trump appoints Carson head of HUD
Trump appoints Carson as Secretary for the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Trump:
I am thrilled to nominate Dr. Ben Carson as our next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities. We have talked at length about my urban renewal agenda and our message of economic revival, very much including our inner cities. Ben shares my optimism about the future of our country and is part of ensuring that this is a Presidency representing all Americans. He is a tough competitor and never gives up.
Carson:
I am honored to accept the opportunity to serve our country in the Trump administration. I feel that I can make a significant contribution particularly by strengthening communities that are most in need. We have much work to do in enhancing every aspect of our nation and ensuring that our nation’s housing needs are met.
Considering Carson as head of HUD
Trump tweets that he is considering Carson as head of the Department of Housing & Urban Development.
I am seriously considering Dr. Ben Carson as the head of HUD. I've gotten to know him well–he's a greatly talented person who loves people!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2016
Endorses Trump
During a joint appearance at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club resort Palm Beach, Florida, Carson formally endorses the GOP frontrunner.
We buried the hatchet. That was political stuff…I have found in talking with him, that there’s a lot more alignment, philosophically and spiritually, than I ever thought that there was.
Trump says Carson has not asked for any formal role, and praises his former rival’s ideas on education.
Ben’s going to have a big, big part.
Carson to endorse Trump
Carson says he will endorse Trump on Fri 11 March. In an interview with Fox Radio:
Well, you know there are two Donald Trumps. 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.
CNN debate
At the CNN Republican debate in Las Vegas, NV, Carson asks for a moment of silence for the victims of the San Bernardino shootings. Later, he responds to a question from Hewitt:
We’re talking about ruthless things tonight. Carpet bombing, toughness, war, and people wonder, could you do that? Could you order airstrikes that would kill innocent children, not scores but hundreds and thousands. Could you wage war as a commander in chief?
Carson:
Well, interestingly enough, you should see the eyes of some of those children when I say to them, We’re going to have to open your head up and take out this tumor. They’re not happy about it, believe me. And they don’t like me very much at that point. But later on, they love me. Sometimes you—I sound like him. Later—you know, later on, you know, they really realize what’s going on. And by the same token, you have to be able to look at the big picture and understand that it’s actually merciful if you go ahead and finish the job, rather than death by a thousand pricks.
Hewitt:
So you are OK with the deaths of thousands of innocent children and civilian. It’s like—
Carson:
You got it. You got it.
Mocks Carson’s knife story
Trump tells a rally in Fort Dodge, IA, that those who support Carson are “stupid” to believe the “crap” that is his life story. At one point, Trump walks away from the podium and flipped his belt buckle up and down to ridicule what Carson has described as a key event in his life: that Carson, as a boy, once tried but failed to stab someone only to have the knife broken by a belt buckle.
So I have a belt: Somebody hits me with a belt, it’s going in because the belt moves this way. It moves this way, it moves that way. He hit the belt buckle. Anybody have a knife? Want to try it on me? Believe me, it ain’t gonna work. You’re going to be successful, but he took the knife and went like this and he plunged it into the belt and, amazing, the belt stayed totally flat and the knife broke…How stupid are the people of Iowa? How stupid are the people of the country to believe this crap?
Carson responds:
Now that he’s completed his gratuitous attack, why don’t we press on and deal with the real issues. That’s what the people of America are concerned about, not so much politics as usual, politics of personal destruction — that’s what the American people are sick and tired of…It’s not the kind of dialogue that I would ever engage in and I’m hopeful that his advisers will help him to understand the word pathological and know that that does not connote incurable. It simply describes something that is highly abnormal and something that fortunately I’ve been able to be delivered from for half a century now.
Freedom rap ad
Carson’s campaign releases a rap radio ad, called Freedom, that will run in African-American populations in Miami, Atlanta, Birmingham, Jackson, Memphis, Little Rock, Houston and Detroit. In the ad, a rap by Aspiring Mogul is overlaid with clips of Carson speaking, as the music urges listeners to “vote, vote.” The campaign is spending $150,000 on the promotion.
I’m very hopeful that I’m not the only one who’s willing to pick up the baton of freedom, because freedom is not free and we must fight for it every day. Every one of us must fight for it because we’re fighting for our children and the next generation.
Still believes Pyramid theory
Carson comments on his 1998 Andrews University commencement speech where he said that his personal theory is that Joseph built the pyramids to store grain.
It’s still my belief, yes…the pyramids were made in a way that they had hermetically sealed compartments….You would need that if you were trying to preserve grain for a long period of time.
His comments then:
Now all the archeologists think that they were made for the pharaohs’ graves. But, you know, it would have to be something awfully big if you stop and think about it. And I don’t think it’d just disappear over the course of time to store that much grain…And various of scientists have said, ‘Well, you know there were alien beings that came down and they have special knowledge and that’s how–‘ you know, it doesn’t require an alien being when God is with you.
‘Don’t televise GOP debates’
Carson’s campaign suggests that future Republican presidential debates only be broadcast over the Internet, on Facebook or YouTube. The campaign also says the forums should prioritize lengthy statements from candidates rather than frequent moderator intervention. Spokesman Doug Watts:
We also think there are too many debates. They’re all bunched up and they really do take a lot of time away from the campaign and they take a lot of financial resources for us to be able to work on them.
Third Republican presidential debate
Carson appears at the third Republican presidential debate in Boulder, CO, hosted by CNBC. He attempts to explain his flat-tax plan and says it is ‘total propaganda’ to suggest he has any connection to Mannatech, a nutritional supplement company. Responding to a question about how he reconciles being an opponent of same-sex marriage, with serving on the board of Costco, regarded as gay-friendly:
I believe our Constitution protects everyone… They (the gay community) shouldn’t automatically assume because you believe that marriage is between one man and one woman, that you’re a homophobe. This is one of the myths that the Left perpetrates on our society. This is how they frighten people and get people to shut up. You know, that’s what the PC culture is all about, and it’s destroying this nation.
Poll: Carson overtakes Trump nationally
According to a CBS News/New York Times national poll, Carson leads Trump 26 percent to 22 percent among likely Republican voters. Carson’s four-point lead is within the survey’s margin of error. Since August, when the same poll gave Carson 6%, his numbers have quadrupled. The rest of the GOP field is far behind. Far behind are Rubio (8%), Bush (7%) and Fiorina (7%). All other candidates are at 4% or less. 70% of Republican primary voters say they have not decided which candidate they will support.
Agrees to two-hour debate
After threats by Carson and Trump to pull out of the upcoming CNBC presidential debate, the network agrees to a two-hour format including commercials, and also agrees candidates can have opening and closing statements. GOP campaign source:
People realized we got the short end of the stick when the Democrats had a 2 minute opening and a 90 second closing [during their debate], so they had three and a half minutes to a 15 million person audience of an infomercial. They get a commercial, we get The Hunger Games.
.@CNBC has just agreed that the debate will be TWO HOURS. Fantastic news for all, especially the millions of people who will be watching!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2015
Would not support Muslim president
During an interview with Todd on Meet The Press, Carson says he would not support a Muslim being president.
Todd: Should your faith matter to voters.
Carson: I guess it depends on what that faith is. If that faith is inconsistent with the values and principles of America then of course it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of America and is consistent with the constitution, then no problem.
Todd: So do you believe that Islam is consistent with the Constitution?
Carson: No I do not. I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.
Todd: Would you ever consider voting for a Muslim for Congress?
Carson: Congress is a different story, but it depends on who that Muslim is and what their policies are.
Attacks Carson
In an interview with Cuomo on CNN, Trump criticizes Carson’s medical experience.
He makes [Jeb Bush] look like the Energizer Bunny…But Ben Carson, you look at this faith and I don’t think you are going to find so much. And you look at his views on abortion, which were horrendous…Who is he to criticize me on my faith? He was a doctor, perhaps an okay doctor, by the way. You can check that out too. He was an okay doctor, and now because he’s a doctor and he hired one nurse he’s going to be end up being the president of the United States?
Chosen for GOP debate
The candidates for the GOP Presidential debate are announced: Trump, Bush, Walker, Huckabee, Carson, Cruz, Rubio, Paul, Christie and Kasich will appear on stage on Aug 6 in Cleveland, OH. RNC chairman Priebus:
Our field is the biggest and most diverse of any party in history and I am glad to see that every one of those extremely qualified candidates will have the opportunity to participate on Thursday evening. Republicans across the country will be able to choose which candidate has earned their support after hearing them talk through the issues.
Claims sabotage
After the resignation of four staffers and articles claiming his campaign is in “turmoil,” Carson issues a statement claiming someone is purposely undermining his campaign.
I thought it was ridiculous, obviously someone is making an attempt to sabotage. I don’t know who this is, but there’s no truth to it whatsoever. I talked to my campaign and they said things are going as well as possible.
Four senior staffers leave
Carson loses four senior staff members leaving his campaign disorganized and andcreating problems at all levels. A campaign aide says Carson’s campaign chairman, national finance chairman, deputy campaign manager and general counsel have resigned since Carson formally launched his bid. They have not been replaced. Carson’s lawyer:
Every campaign goes through growing pains as it puts together a leadership team that has to work together and live together through the trying times of a presidential election.
Memorial Day message
Carson tweets a Memorial Day message with pictures of American flags with two quotes. The first is from Wallace Bruce:
Who kept the faith and fought the fight;
The glory theirs, the duty ours.
The second is a quote of his own:
Remembering the men and women who gave their lives in service for our country
Wants inclusive debate
Despite his own surge in popularity that makes him a strong candidate for the first Republican debate, Carson asks the RNC to allow all candidates to participate.
I am very worried that out of broadcasting convenience our party is about to exclude voices from our debate programs that are critical to making our party bigger, better, and bolder. The rules may be good for me personally, but they are not good for the process. We are blessed to have so many qualified candidates running for president, more than a typical debate format can handle. Surely we could find a format to allow every voice to be heard.
Raises concern on GOP debate
Carson raises concerns over polling requirement for GOP candidates to participate in Fox News presidential debate. He also asks Republican National Committee for a solution that is inclusive of every voice.
I am writing you today about an issue that concerns me greatly…I am very worried that out of broadcasting convenience our party is about to exclude voices from our debate programs that are critical to making our party bigger, better, and bolder…The rules may be good for me personally, but they are not good for the process. We are blessed to have many qualified candidates running for President. More than a typical debate format can handle. Surely we can find a format that allows every voice to be heard.