Ben Carson is now square in the eye of hurricane Donald Trump.
A day after Carson questioned Trump’s faith during a campaign stop in Anaheim, Calif., the real estate magnate fired back. During an interview with CNN’s New Day Thursday, Trump called Carson an “okay doctor” while lambasting him for his comments about his faith.
“I never heard faith was a big thing until just recently when he started running, so I don’t know about Ben Carson’s faith, and all the sudden he becomes this great religious figure,” Trump told host Chris Cuomo. “I don’t think he’s a great religious figure.”
As Cuomo pointed out, Carson is a Seventh Day Adventist and discusses his faith at length on the campaign trail.
“I saw him yesterday quoting something, and he was quoting on humility, and it looks like he had just memorized it two minutes before he made the quote. Don’t tell me about Ben Carson,” Trump said, saying people should go back and look at his past views on abortion. “Frankly, he makes [Jeb] Bush look like the Energizer bunny. He’s very low key. … But Ben Carson, you look at his faith, and I think you’re not going to find so much.”
“Who is he to question my faith? … I don’t know Ben Carson. He was a doctor — perhaps an okay doctor, by the way. You should check that out too,” Trump told an incredulous Cuomo, who pointed out that he was the first doctor to separate conjoined twins. “We did — not talking about a great — he was an okay doctor. He was just fine, and now because he’s a doctor and he hired one nurse, he’s going to end up being the President of the United States?”
Carson was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his efforts in the medical field by President George W. Bush in 2008.
In the past Trump has talked about how the Bible was his favorite book, but has declined in past appearances to name his favorite Bible verse or if he prefers the Old Testament or New Testament. He also said during a July 18 event with Frank Luntz that he wasn’t sure he’s ever asked God for forgiveness.
“Probably the biggest thing — I’ve realized where my success has come from and I don’t in anyway deny my faith in God,” Carson said Wednesday.
“By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life and that’s a very big part of who I am. I don’t get that impression with him,” Carson said of Trump. “Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t get that.”
