Decades of success in the private sector count as much as a political background when it comes to running the country, Republican presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson said this weekend.
"Our government is incredibly inefficient at this stage right now," Carson said at the inaugural Roast and Ride event, sponsored by Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst on Saturday,
reports The Hill. "There are a lot of people in politics who are wise and can solve our problem, but there's some people in politics I wouldn't let tie my shoes."
Carson first rose to national prominence in neurosurgery almost 30 years ago, when he performed the first successful separation of twins who were conjoined at the back of the head. The Baltimore resident served as head of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center for nearly four decades, earning many key awards.
He said Saturday that he has also had "decades of experience on corporate boards, seeing how things work efficiently and inefficiently."
He also Saturday struck back at claims that have been made that his lengthy medical career means he is not qualified to lead on issues such as foreign policy or finances.
"The government is not supposed to tell us what to do," he said at the event, giving Obamacare as a prime example. "If we accept that, it will continue to erode our freedoms."
Further, the retired surgeon said the economy shows that political experts do not always have the answers.
Carson is not the only candidate who has little or no political experience. Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, also has never held a political office, even though she ran for a California Senate seat in 2010, losing to incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.
Real estate mogul Donald Trump also has never held political office, even though
he has teased the possibility of running for president and for the governor's seat in New York, but did not end up mounting campaigns.
Fiorina announced her candidacy in May, and Trump plans to make an announcement next week.
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.
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