Ben Carson plans to announce his presidential intentions this spring.
“I will announce before March, before May 1,” Carson said in an interview on NewsMaxTV’s America’s Forum on Friday. “I would just say that I am listening extremely carefully. I don’t want to do something that the American people do not want me to do.”
Cason, a retired neurosurgeon and Tea Party darling who has never held political office, said he is studying the issues plaguing the country — much like he does with medicine.
“You have to know a lot of stuff,” he said. “I’m rapidly acquiring that knowledge, listening to people and really finding a tremendous amount of frustration with the status quo, politics as usual, be it Republican or Democrat. Our system was designed for the people. It wasn’t designed for professional politicians. I’m thinking very seriously, listening to people and we’ll make a decision in a few months.”
He also said his aides are helping him to study foreign police, finance and government.
“A lot of people think you have to be a longtime politician to learn all that stuff,” Carson said. “I’ve got to tell you something, you can even learn neurosurgery in a matter of years. You don’t have to be a lifetime politician.”
Carson, with eight percentage points, is currently polling sixth among potential 2016 Republican presidential nominees, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush leads the field.
