[nikos1121]

Ben Carson (born September 18, 1951, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.) American politician and neurosurgeon who performed the first successful separation of conjoined twins who were attached at the back of the head (occipital craniopagus twins). The operation, which took place in 1987, lasted some 22 hours and involved a 70-member surgical team. Carson also refined a technique known as hemispherectomy, in which one-half of the brain is removed to prevent seizures in persons with severe epilepsy. He later became active in politics and served as U.S. secretary of housing and urban development (HUD; 2017–21) in the administration of U.S. Pres. Donald Trump.

Early life and medical career

Carson spent his early childhood in Detroit. His parents divorced when he was eight years old, and thereafter he lived with his mother and brother, spending a brief period in Boston and later returning to Detroit. Although Carson showed potential as a student, he performed poorly in school until his mother challenged him and his brother with reading and writing assignments in addition to their regular schoolwork. Carson developed a newfound interest in learning and eventually earned a scholarship to Yale University, receiving a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1973. While at Yale, he met Lacena (“Candy”) Rustin; the couple married in 1975 and had three children. He next attended the University of Michigan, earning a medical degree in 1977, and later Johns Hopkins University Medical School in Baltimore, Maryland, where he completed a residency in neurosurgery. In 1984, after a brief stint as a senior registrar in neurosurgery at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, part of the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Center in Nedlands, Western Australia, Carson became director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. He was one of the youngest doctors in the United States to earn such a title. He later also held professorships in plastic surgery, oncology, and pediatrics at Johns Hopkins.

In his successful separation of occipital craniopagus twins in 1987, Carson used a radical approach in which the twins’ body temperatures were lowered to the point of circulatory arrest. The success of the procedure and the reconstructive techniques employed gained Carson world renown as a pediatric neurosurgeon. In 1997, in a 28-hour-long operation, he led a team of South African and Zambian surgeons in a separation of twins conjoined at the top of the head (type 2 vertical craniopagus twins). Carson was also known for having performed the first successful rescue of a hydrocephalic twin using an intrauterine shunt. The shunt served to drain fluid under high pressure away from the developing brain of the fetus and into the amniotic cavity of the mother. Carson’s techniques for hemispherectomy and craniofacial reconstructive surgery were influential in the fields of neurosurgery and plastic surgery.

He was a vocal supporter of eventual winner Donald Trump, who in December 2016 announced that he would nominate Carson to serve as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In March 2017 Carson was confirmed by the Senate, 58–41, and took office shortly thereafter.

In an effort to promote self-sufficiency, Carson supported rent increases for those receiving federal housing assistance or living in public housing properties. He also sought to reduce housing regulations, including those designed to end discrimination. Such moves were met with opposition, as critics alleged that he failed to understand the complexities of the issues. In a February 2019 interview Carson suggested that he would leave HUD at the end of Trump’s term in 2021. In March 2020 he was appointed to the government’s task force handling the coronavirus pandemic. In November it was announced that he had tested positive for the disease, and he later claimed that he had become “desperately ill” but recovered after Trump intervened to get him access to an antibody treatment that required FDA approval. Carson stepped down as secretary of HUD in January 2021.

Other activities

In 1994 Carson cofounded the Carson Scholars Fund, an organization that awarded scholarships to students who had demonstrated academic excellence and community service. He received numerous awards during his career, including the 2008 Presidential Medal of Freedom, given to him by U.S. Pres. George W. Bush. Carson also traveled as a motivational speaker, was an outspoken supporter of creationism, and was the subject of the 2009 made-for-television movie Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story. The movie took its title from Carson’s autobiography, Gifted Hands (1990; with Cecil Murphey).

[NautiNurse]

Lee Zeldin

[teeman8r]

Ben is a great man, but not the attack dog that is needed and expected to continue the dismantling of the deep state.

Rep Stefanik will help bring NY into the electoral college numbers and have an attack dog ready to continue in 2028

jmho of course.

[Macoozie]

So you want him because he’s black?

He’s good, just as good, and he’ll do all the black stuff too. That’s about as silly a reason to pick a VP as any I’ve seen.

If you want someone because he’s black, go all in for Byron. At least he’s got real Street/Hood Cred.

How about picking someone that can:
1. Successfully serve as POTUS if the need arises.
2. Help to implement MAGA across this great land.
3. Help to FIGHT the Deep State.
4. Bring in voters currently on the fence for Our PDJT, The GOAT.
5. Run and win POTUS in 2028.

regardless of their sex or color?

[fwdude]

Ben Carson has never disappointed me. I wouldn’t mind him on the ticket at all. Very Sowell-ian.

[JudyinCanada]

Thanks for posting, nikos! I love Ben Carson as well. My only concern is how tough he can be - how much fight does he have in him...that kind of thing.

I first saw him years ago on Christian television - very impressive man.

[peggybac]

Rick Grenell is my choice.

[j_guru]

I predict that the VP choice will be someone completely off the radar, and an unknown, at least on the national stage. Trump has such a headwind, that he does not need to bring someone with name recognition. He should zero in on someone who will extend his legacy, long into the future. MAGA all the way!

[Twotone]

Carson is a fine man, but we need an activist VP who can show Trump where the problems are & how to fix them Ric Grenell or Kash Patel would be my choices, although I don’t know if Kash meets the natural born requirement.

[bray]

He needs an attack dog so he doesn’t have to be. Ben is not that type.

[Cincinnatus.45-70]

He’s my pick, too. A brilliant man who isn’t an “intellectual” and actually knows things.

[Reily]

I like the idea of Ben Carson being VEEP.
He’s not likely to have Prez ambitions. So he won’t spend his time undermining Trump. (Yes, he could develop them!)

All good ideas have associated problems!

1. He’s 74!

2. He’s a 7th Day Adventist. The press will have a field day with that. Some on this site will have a problem with it.

As far as a human being, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better one!

[Jaysin]

How about Larry Elder?

[Buttons12]

Carson’s my 2nd choice after Sanders.

[eyesopenandsee]

Too weak!! Not a fighter. Enough of the nice guys.

[rockabyebaby]

TRUMP'S VP SELECTION: Please, Let It Be Ben!

Glenn Beck said that he spoke to Trump and told him he should pick Vivek for his VP, excuse me while I vomit!

[usurper]

I like the guy but sadly he’s just to damn nice. We need someone who can not only fight in the mud but enjoys it.

[Arlis]

Have to say I agree.....

[caddie]

Kari Lake or Sarah Huckabee are two persons with balls enough to follow Trump's path of leadership and courage in the face of completely illegitimate and relentless attacks from the left.

Each sees how high the stakes are, each knows the desperate cultural battle we are in.

Likewise Col. West knows the gravity of this battle.

Oh yeah, he has balls, too.

[MinorityRepublican]

Vivek Ramaswamy is my pick. You need someone who knows how to handle the media.

[DesertRhino]

A good man, but not dynamic in personality. I want Tucker, or maybe Kid Rock.