Trump Says Carson, Who Separated Conjoined Twins, Is An ‘Okay Doctor’

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Celebrity tycoon Donald Trump started a hardcore (albeit weird) defensive strategy against his rising opponent, retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson, during an interview with CNN on Thursday morning.

Trump called Carson, the first surgeon to separate conjoined twins at the back of the head, just “an OK doctor” and urged CNN anchor Chris Cuomo to “check that out” anyway.

This latest round of Trump attacks was in response to Carson’s critiques of former reality star’s faith.

“By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life and that’s a very big part of who I am. I don’t get that impression with (Trump),” Carson said Wednesday, according to CNN. “Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t get that.”

Trump asked why Carson was questioning his faith during the Thursday interview. Then he questioned Carson’s.

“If you look at his past, which I’ve done, he wasn’t a big man of faith,” Trump said of Carson, who rose to prominence after critiquing President Obama at a prayer breakfast in 2013. “All of a sudden he’s becoming this man of faith and he was heavy into the world of abortion.”

Carson has a strong anti-abortion stance, but faced criticism for performing research using fetal tissue research in 1992.

“Ben Carson isn’t going to be your next President, I can tell you that,” Trump told Cuomo.

In a new CNN/ORC poll, Trump led the GOP field with 32 percent nationwide and Carson was his nearest competitor at 19 percent.

This post has been updated.

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: