Republican presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson suffered a “sad turn” in his storied legacy by charging public speaking fees in 2014, argued New York Times columnist Charles Blow in his latest op-ed.
But Blow himself is represented by at least one professional speaker’s bureau, and his fee is listed at a minimum of $15,000 per appearance.
In his column, Blow cited a news report from July that said in 2014, before he declared his run for president, Carson charged somewhere between $12,000 and $49,000 for speaking engagements, earning him around $2 million total.
“This is a sad turn — spurred, I believe, by profit motive — for such a great legacy,” Blow wrote.
Celebrity Talent International, a speaker’s bureau, represents Blow for speaking engagements. Blow’s fee is listed on CTI’s website as between $15,000 and $25,000.
Blow is also listed as a speaker with WME-IMG Speakers. A representative confirmed to the Washington Examiner media desk on Thursday that Blow’s fee is between $10,000 and $15,000 (though he is “flexible” for speaking engagements on college campuses).
Blow did not return a request for comment on whether there was any hypocrisy in charging speaker fees while at the same time questioning the motives of others who do the same.
A spokesman for Carson’s campaign discmissed Blow’s criticism.
“Dr. Carson did not become a candidate for president until March 3 when he announced an exploratory committee and May 4 when he announced his candidacy,” the spokesman said. “Any paid speeches contracted prior to those dates, which would certainly include any speeches given in 2014, were standard practice.”
Other current presidential candidates have, in fact, charged speaking fees before they launched their campaign. After Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton launched her campaign in April, the New York Times reported that throughout 2014 and into 2014, she charged up to $350,000 for speaking engagements.
The spokesman for Carson said the candidate has not charged any speaker fees since the formation of his presidential exploratory committee.
“Charles Blow’s comments ignore the facts and are hypocritical at best, as he too accepts paid speaking engagements,” he said.
