Who is this religious doctor and Republican candidate ?

Ben Carson has been polling in second place behind frontrunner Donald Trump since August. His journey from nobody to serious contender has been told many times by now. Since the start of his campaign the neurosurgeon has had many opportunities to speak his mind publicly. Here are some quotes that will surprise you:

1. “If we simply refuse to extend the budget by one penny for three to four years, you got a balanced budget. Just like that”

Dr. Ben Carson is a strong opponent of deficit spending, and has advocated for stopping spending immediately, in order to reduce the size of the state.

2. Carson, a deeply religious man, believes that the big bang is a “fairy tale”… pushed by “high-faulting scientists”. He similarly believes evolution is a myth that has been promoted by the devil.

3. “A lot of people who go into prison straight, and when they come out they’re gay.”

Speaking with CNN, Carson explained that he believed this demonstrated that being gay was a choice. The Republican frontrunner has since apologised for these comments.

4. “I would not be in favor of killing a baby because the baby came about in that way”

Carson believes that all life is sacred. As such, he believes that abortion under any circumstances should be outlawed, even in cases of rape or incest.

5. “I think the likelihood of Hitler being able to accomplish his goals would have been greatly diminished if the people had been armed”

Defending his strong belief in guns, Carson outlined why he felt that Hitler could have been stopped, if only the Jewish people had been more appropriately armed.

6. “Things that are isolated issues as opposed to things that fundamentally change the United Sates of America and shift power from the people to the government. That is a huge shift.”

Repeating the claim that Obamacare was worse than the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2011, Carson explained that the reason for this is that the changes to the Affordable Care Act are permanent. This means that for him, the harmful effects are unfortunately more enduring.

7. “The one (tax plan) that I’ve advocated is based on tithing, because I think God is a pretty fair guy”

A deeply religious man, Carson intends to implement a flat tax of 10-15% based off the religious tithe of the bible.