Ben Carson wants people to know he’s personable and ready for next week’s debates. And he’s not going to come armed with a lot of talking points.
“There’s been a lot of negative press about me, and some of the things I’ve said have been distorted,” the retired neurosurgeon told The Hill.com in an exclusive interview. “There’s this narrative that I’m this guy that hates other people. This will give people the opportunity to see who I really am. That’s the reason I’m really looking forward to it.”
Carson, who’s never before sought political office, is expected to qualify for next Thursday’s debate. The top 10 plus ties in an average of national polls will participate.
Carson has built a strong grassroots network, but is barely known. The Hill reported he feels the town hall meetings he’s been hosting provide him with plenty of practice for the debate.
And, Carson said, “I’m not going to fill my head full of talking points, because my lifetime has filled my head with talking points,” adding, “I’ll just talk about what I truly believe.”
The debate will be a new kind of test for the physician. “As far as areas that people think physicians don’t know anything about, like economics and foreign policy, I think some people are going to be pretty surprised,” Carson said.
David Lightman: 202-383-6101, @lightmandavid
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