It wasn’t what he did but what he said that has the left coming for Dr. Ben Carson following his comments at Saturday’s White House Coronavirus Task Force news conference.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson lauded the Americans “pulling together for good” to fight the coronavirus.
“…we have so many people who are willing to put aside their self interest for the good of the nation. And I want to thank those people at the federal, state, and local level who have put their own lives on pause in order to try to help their fellow Americans. It makes a big difference. But just as importantly, I want to thank the private sector. There are so many in the private sector who have volunteered their services, who have stepped up, who are willing to recognize that maybe they’re going to take a bit of a financial hit but they recognize that we have to create the kind of appropriate environment so that everybody can succeed in this nation. And so often we overlook those individuals.”
But it was his comments on faith at a time of a national emergency that were among the most inspiring – and, for some, controversial – of the day.
“What we’re facing now is a significant threat and as a physician and as a surgeon I’ve faced very very complex problems and most of them we were able to overcome not so much because of me but because of the fact that we had incredible people…
And I hope that we as a nation can use this as an opportunity to pull together for good. You know, President Trump is going to be recommending a National Day of Prayer and you know we’ve gotten away from prayer and faith a lot in this country. There’s nothing wrong with godly principles, no matter what your faith is. Loving your neighbor, caring about the people around you, developing your God-given talents to the utmost so that you become valuable to the people around you, having values and principles that govern your life. Those are things that made America zoom to the top of the world in record time. And those are the things that will keep us there, too.”
The Amen Chorus joined in highlighting his faith-filled sentiments:
“There’s nothing wrong with godly principles no matter what your faith is.”
Ben Carson is right.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 14, 2020
When we look back on it, this could be Ben Carson’s finest moment
Wonderful and unexpected sentiment from him at an extremely important time pic.twitter.com/FDZLmthM73
— Quoth the Raven (@QTRResearch) March 14, 2020
But the haters tried to set his words on fire.
Here’s a New York Times opinion writer comparing Dr. Carson’s words to one of Dante’s circles of hell:
Trump press conference just as disappointing and depressing as the others. This time we have Ben Carson. Dr Fauci realizes he is in the 7th circle of hell.
— Wajahat "Social Distance Yourself" Ali (@WajahatAli) March 14, 2020
This “Ellen Show” producer took a whack at the internationally-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon.
Ben Carson operated on brains.
That’s the tweet.
— andy lassner (@andylassner) March 14, 2020
When Dr. Carson spoke, it was nearly an hour into the news conference updating all the science-y things this blue checkmark apparently missed.
Oh. My. God. Ben Carson- THIS is your wheelhouse. Please talk about the science of all this. You did NOT make us feel better. Let ME worry about my prayers. Gah.
— @tiffanydcross (@TiffanyDCross) March 14, 2020
This doctor erroneously reported that Dr. Carson coughed into his hand. He didn’t. He was clearing his throat in, not coughing out, but he did touch his face. For shame.
Dr. Ben Carson, neurosurgeon extraordinaire, coughing into his hands at a press conference about the coronavirus pandemic is appalling. Doctors are supposed to be role models during a health emergency. Instead, Dr. Carson uses his platform to carelessly showcase dangerous habits. pic.twitter.com/uF6auyZYPn
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) March 14, 2020
We’re not sure what this guy’s problem is, but is there something wrong with Dr. Ben Carson being the Secretary of HUD?
Just a reminder: Former surgeon Ben Carson is currently speaking to the country not as the Surgeon General but as the SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT. #bencarson pic.twitter.com/q0738LqcdZ
— Phillip Lamarr Cunningham (@plcphd) March 14, 2020
See this guy off Dr. Carson’s right shoulder? That’s the Surgeon General Jerome Adams. He was there and gave an update.
Screenshot/YouTube
Apparently the neurosurgeon wasn’t educated enough for some lefties such as Tommy Vietor, formerly with the Obama Administration’s NSC and fired by Trump:
Racist bigots like @TVietor08 hate Ben Carson because he's Black, a Christian, and a conservative.
They attack a world-renowned neurosurgeon and call him dumb because they don't like his political and religious beliefs. pic.twitter.com/x82PrYDaiX
— Matt Wolking (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@MattWolking) March 14, 2020
Here are his full remarks.
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