President Joe Biden has comprehension issues that are placing the United States in "grave danger," former Housing and Urban Development Secretary and retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson said Sunday.
"It's almost like a ship out at sea during a storm with a captain who's impaired and people trying to tell him what to do, but he's not able to comprehend what they're saying," Carson, who served under former President Donald Trump, said on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.
The danger is showing on the nation's southern border, which has been left open while Biden is "not understanding the implications of that when you have nationals like Iran that see us as the 'Great Satan' and want to destroy us," said Carson. "Why wouldn't they be taking advantage of that situation, to send their operatives into the open southern border, targeting our electric grid, creating enormous problems for us? We don't seem to have the kind of leadership that recognizes that it is a problem."
Meanwhile, the president was diagnosed with COVID-19, and Carson said it's a "serious issue" because, at 79, he is at an increased risk and has "underlying problems as well."
"He has access to the best medical care in the world at Walter Reed, so I suspect he will get through it," said Carson. "I hope and pray like many others that he will recover."
But still, that leaves the issues with Biden's gaffes and in his ability to create confidence, said Carson.
"He's the laughingstock around the world," said Carson. 'This is not good for America. And, you know, it's time for us to pray. We've got to get through this period of time and hope we get back to some stability in our country and leadership for the world."
Biden survived two aneurysms in 1988, and last week, his doctor stopped his heart medication while he is being treated with the antiviral Paxlovid for COVID, reports the New York Post, which Carson said is a useful medication for treating older patients and keeping them from needing hospitalization.
"It does have some potential side effects," he said. "It can affect the liver and other parts of the body in a negative way as well, and about 1% of the people who take it will have a rebound phenomenon. But for the most part, it's good."
Carson added that several treatments have come out, as a great deal has been learned about COVID since the pandemic started.
"We have the ability to treat it to a much greater extent," he said. "Therefore, if it begins to multiply again amongst our population, the degree of fright and hysteria should be significantly diminished."
COVID can also affect the body's clotting system and affect cells that line the blood vessels, which can affect cognition, said Carson.
"There are some rumblings that perhaps people with COVID also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder," said Carson, adding that all of the research needs further investigation.
"Let's not get to a point where we allow it to be used to frighten people into submitting to all kinds of mandates," said Carson. "I don't think the American people are going to accept that, quite frankly."
Carson also discussed the declaration of monkeypox as a global emergency and said that nobody knows how concerned they should be about information after the COVID pandemic.
"It's going to be very hard to convince people that this is something that's very serious," he said.
"It's not clear to me that it's going to be that serious. The ways that it's transmitted are a little bit unique. And those things have to be looked at as well."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.