In 2016, and before, neurosurgeon Ben Carson was the darling of a large block of conservative Republican and independent voters who were convinced that he had been sent by God to save America.
Then he stood on a stage with many Republican presidential candidates, near Donaldl Trump, and fell asleep while answering questions from the panel.
At the end of 2016, Trump tapped him to be his Secretary of HUD (Housing and Urban Development), but yesterday he landed in Congress, questioned by Representative Katie Porter, a newly-elected Democratic Congresswoman from California, at a hearing before the Financial Services Committee.
Trump’s HUD Secretary landed with a thud.
Rep. Porter asked Carson about REO, and he thought she was saying “Oreo.”
She asked him to talk to him about Real Estate Owned — that is, public housing stock, owned by HUD, that has been foreclosed.
She asked him what REO stands for, but he could only say Real Estate, he couldn't say what the O represents.
Later, he tweeted a photo of himself holding a bag of oreos.
When he was confirmed by the Senate in 2017, he possessed no qualificaitons whatsoever to be Secretary of HUD.
On NPR today, Pam Fessler reported on the condition of public housing in the District of Columbia (https://www.npr.org/search?query=public%20housing&page=1). Tyrone Garrett is the Executive Director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority, and he is trying to deal with the failure of our government to address the chronically dilapidated condition of public housing.
When pressed by Congresswoman Aryanna Pressley (D-Mass.) as to whether he would want his grandmother to live in public housing, Carson replied, while nearly somnolent, “You know the answer to that question.”
Again and again.
CNN’s Don Lemon, who is much smarter than Carson with respect to public affairs, expressed astonishment about Carson’s blatant ignorance of what goes on — or is supposed to go on — in his Department (https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/05/22/ben-carson-congressional-testimony-lemon-ctn-vpx.cnn).
Carson has been cited by the Government Accountability Office for spending up to $31,000 for a dining set in his office, in late 2017. He was only allowed to spend $5k for office redecorations. Carson said his wife, Candy, chose the dining set.
Associate solitary reporter Susanna Sherman, a prominent resident of our Nation’s Capital, and associate solitary reporter Johanna Jones confronted Trump today in his Oval Office and demanded that he allow them to inspect the public housing where he lives.
ASR Jones is twenty-five, African American, and knock down gorgeous.
Jones and Sherman found no rodents, no mildew, just a lot of servants, all of whom told them, sotto voce, that Trump is making America worse.