Retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson, a former rival of President-elect Donald Trump, has accepted Trump’s nomination for a Cabinet position as the secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
A current vice chairman of the Trump transition team, Carson has been a close adviser to the President-elect ever since he dropped out of the Republican primary race. This continues the pattern of former Republican presidential hopefuls turning to support the man who once insulted them to the cheers and laughter of his supporters.
Pathological Ben Carson
In the case of Ben Carson, Trump said the following while campaigning in Iowa:
“[Carson] wrote a book and in the book, he said terrible things about himself… He said that he’s pathological and he’s basically got a pathological disease… I don’t want a person that’s got a pathological disease.”
.@CarlyFiorina Ben Carson said in his own book that he has a pathological temper & pathological disease. I didn’t say it, he did. Apology?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2015
He then went on to compare Carson being “pathological” as similar to being a “child molester.” Not exactly the ringing endorsement you want to get from your future boss. Although, Trump has only had good things to say about Carson now that they’re no longer competing. When announcing that Carson will be leading HUD, Trump said in a statement:
“Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities and families within those communities.”
A brilliant (but slightly pathological) mind, the perfect choice for someone to lead a major department as part of your cabinet. If he truly is pathological, although in what sense Trump didn’t specify, he should fit in nicely with the rest of the President-elect’s cabinet so far.
Pulling A 180
The fact that Carson even accepted a post on Trump’s cabinet is slightly odd, given that less than a month ago he said he could:
“…Best serve the president outside the administration.”
His business manager also told Circa that:
“The President-elect offered him anything he wanted to do. But in the end, he didn’t want anything.”
Carson was reportedly offered the position of Health and Human Services secretary but turned it down. This was the cabinet position that most people believed he would take, as head of HHS would be responsible for executing Trump’s plans to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Carson has been very vocally opposed to the Affordable Care Act, yet apparently not enough that he’d willing be an active part of its destruction.
All in all, Carson has had quite an interesting year. From leading the Republican presidential primary polls, to being attacked by Donald Trump and falling from those polls like a fiery meteorite, to endorsing Donald Trump despite his insults, to turning down a spot on Trump’s cabinet, to accepting a more ill-fitting position. Where does he go from here?
Looking at how things have gone so far, I don’t think Ben Carson even knows.
Watch the video below to see Trump insult his newest cabinet member:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbxWRavwvhA
Featured image credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr/CC-2.0
