Audio Transcription of Interview with Dr. Ben Carson

Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and retired neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Carson, spoke with UNC students on October 26, 2023. Source for photo: The Daily Tar Heel

World-renowned neurosurgeon and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson, was invited to speak and answer questions at UNC this past week at an event hosted by Turning Point USA. Dr. Carson’s speech, titled “From Surgeon to Statesman,” detailed key moments in his upbringing, career, and faith journey that have helped to both shape his career and his life. Prior to the event, Dr. Carson sat down with Maxwell Schwartz of the Carolina Political Review for a short interview to discuss his past career in government, his opinions on the current Israel-Palestine conflict, and the future of the nation. The following is a transcript of the interview.

Schwartz: “Your presentation tonight is aptly titled ‘From Surgeon to Statesman.’ What was the catalyst that prompted that transition from medicine to politics?”

Dr. Carson: “Well, it certainly wasn’t intentional, but in 2013 I was asked to be the keynote speaker at the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, and after that speech, everybody started saying, ‘you should run for President.’ And I said, ‘if I ignore these people, it will go away.’ But, I ignored them and it didn’t go away. Everywhere I went, people had ‘Run Ben, Run’ signs, I had over 500,000 petitions in my office, and I finally said ‘Lord, if you really want me to do this, you’ve got to give me all the things that I need, like a rolodex with all the important names, a lot of money,’ and I said, ‘I’m not going to develop those things,’ and the next thing I knew, they were all there!” (Laughs) “But, it was fascinating because in traveling all over this country, one thing that became very clear to me from the smallest hamlets of North Dakota and Alabama to the larger cities: most Americans have common sense. What they lack is courage. And, you can’t be the land of the free if you’re not the home of the brave, and it’s very important that we recognize that this country was founded to be around the people - of, by, and for the people - and not of, by, and for the government.”

Schwartz: “On the topic of your 2016 run, one quote I would like to bring up, considering current events, is how unlike your opponents in the primary, instead of axing the Department of Education, you said you would use it to “monitor our institutions of higher education for extreme political bias and deny federal funding on that basis.” I’m sure you might have seen some of the chalk all over campus today with slogans such as ‘From the River to the Sea.’ So, with what’s going on today, do you stand by that position, and, if so, how can you justify denying federal funding to what seems to be every university in America at this point?”

Dr. Carson: “Well, if the universities are obviously biased and are aimed at indoctrination rather than education, why would you facilitate that?”

Schwartz: “Also, touching off of that subject too, many are boiling the Israeli-Palestine conflict down to a Jewish-Muslim conflict, with Senator Lindsey Graham calling it a ‘Holy War.’ Do you agree with that characterization, and where do you stand on that as a Christian?”

Dr. Carson: “I agree that it’s a horrible situation and I agree that that’s the reason why we in America have got to recognize that, even if we have differences of opinion, we’re not each other's enemies, because that’s the end-stage of what happens with hatred of that kind. We need to be focused on the things that we agree on and how we can improve the environment, particularly on the things we don’t agree on. The Israeli problem has been going on since Jacob and Esau, and there doesn’t seem to be any abatement to that because it’s based on hatred. Our country should be based on unity.”

Schwartz: “So, does it shock you that, when just ten years ago, you saw parades in the streets in major cities across America celebrating the killing of Osama Bin-Laden, that today those same cities, and now college campuses, are run with pro-Hamas slogans, anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish slander, and so on?”

Dr. Carson: “Well, I’m surprised to see the degree of anti-Semitism that exists. You would have thought that maybe we would have learned something from World War II and from Hitler, but, obviously, we didn’t, or many of us did not. I think a lot of it is engendered by lack of knowledge and a lack of understanding of history, and we really need to get back to presenting history in an accurate way historically because, when it’s distorted, you have people who become very easily manipulated, very easily led, and that’s part of the problem that we’re facing right now in our nation - the dumbing down of our people. You’ve probably seen some of those man-on-the-street interviews on TikTok.”

Schwartz: “Yeah.”

Dr. Carson: “I mean, they don’t know anything!”

(Laughter)

Dr. Carson: “Well, when you have people in that state you can tell them just about anything and they will follow along, and that’s why real education is so important as opposed to indoctrination.”

Schwartz: “You were the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the Trump Administration. Despite your accomplishments in that field, you are probably best known for being one of the few people that was not relieved of their duties from the Trump Administration. Can you give more insight into how you worked with President Trump and maintained that position?”

Dr. Carson: “Philosophically, President Trump and I are very similar. We have very different personalities, but philosophically, there was not much difference there. And, even if there was a difference, I saw my duty as providing housing for some of the less fortunate people in society, so I’m not gonna walk out and leave them in the lurch because I had some disagreements with [President Trump].”

Schwartz: “Going off of that, let’s say President Trump wins come 2024. Do you expect another offer for a position, and, if you got that offer, would you take it?”

Dr. Carson: “I have really enjoyed my time in the private sector.” (Laughs). “And, I’ll leave it at that.”

Schwartz: “Alright.” (Laughs) “One final question - so if you look at the candidates on the debate stage, Trump included or not, there appears to be a good amount of possible future leaders in the GOP. Yet, we just witnessed the House of Representatives in disarray and gridlock for three weeks, unable to elect a speaker. There is a clear disconnect between what the voters want and what Republican officials are doing. Are you optimistic, pessimistic, or unsure about the future of the Republican party, and also about the nation at large?”

Dr. Carson: “Our nation has been through some gut-wrenching problems in the past. Sometimes, things look very bleak, including in the very beginning of our nation. And yet, we made it through. And part of that had to do with the fact that we had faith and that we loved our neighbor. We didn’t hate our neighbor, or want to cancel our neighbor because we disagreed with them. If we can get back to a point where we recognize that we are not enemies, and we can learn to discuss our differences with the facts as the Good Lord intended, then I think the future of America is great. But, if we continue to back into our respective corners and throw hand grenades at each other, we’re done.”

Schwartz: “Do you worry we’re approaching end times?”

Dr. Carson: (Chuckles) “Certainly, if you read the Bible and you see the descriptions, it certainly sounds like it, no question about it. But it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t do everything we can in the meantime to improve the situation for all of our fellow Americans.”

Schwartz: “Dr. Carson, thank you so much for your time.”

Dr. Carson: “My pleasure.”