Neurosurgeon Ben Carson is continuing to hint that he will run for president in 2016, though pledges that if elected he won’t become a “politician” in the traditional sense.
“I will tell you that I’m not a politician, and I don’t believe in political correctness,” Carson told the crowd Friday at a political summit in Texas. “So I may say something that will offend someone. And I frankly never plan on becoming a politician. It doesn’t mean that I won’t do something in public office, but I won’t be a politician in the process.”
Carson made the comments Friday afternoon in Dallas at Americans for Prosperity’s Defending the American Dream Summit.
Earlier this month, a close friend and adviser to Carson told The Daily Caller he believes it is likely the neurosurgeon will run as a Republican for president in 2016.
“I think he’s very, very serious,” said Terry Giles, who recently agreed to serve as chairman of the campaign if Carson pulls the trigger on a run. “If it were on the big board in Vegas, I’d probably be betting in favor of the fact he’s going to run.”
Other speakers at the weekend event for conservative activists include Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina.
Opening the conference Friday afternoon, AFP president Tim Phillips estimated more than 3,000 activists were attending the summit. Phillips took aim at Senate majority leader Harry Reid, who has been relentlessly slamming the organization and its major financial backers, Charles and David Koch.
“Sen. Reid is not a big fan of Americans for Prosperity or David and Charles Koch, our good friends,” Phillips said. “He’s not a big fan. I know it’s shocking.”
Philips mocked Reid for living in an apartment at the Ritz Carlton in Washington D.C. and being driven in a motorcade to the Capitol while simultaneously taking to the Senate floor to decry the influence of wealthy Americans like the Kochs.
“Here’s the irony: David and Charles Koch create more prosperity for more Americans in one year than a career politician like Harry Reid in a lifetime,” Phillips said. “That’s the irony.”
