Retired neurosurgeon and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson is certainly no stranger to controversial statements.
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Carson’s latest controversial comment was captured during a Wednesday appearance on a Sirius XM radio show.
“I think poverty, to a large extent, is also a state of mind,” he said. “You take somebody that has the right mindset, you take everything from them and put them on the street and I guarantee in a little while they’ll be right back up there.”
While Carson continued to speak about “defeatist attitudes,” the internet buzzed with reactions to his comments.
Several criticized Carson for being out of touch:
Related: Housing sec Ben Carson is concerned that housing for the poor, including poor veterans, is too comfortable https://t.co/EVDrL8Vjbn https://t.co/ylYSQvYPcO
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 24, 2017
Dear @SecretaryCarson,
States of mind:
✔️ Happy
✔️ Sad
✔️ New YorkNOT a state of mind:
❌ Systemic poverty https://t.co/HAuQrNzvTL— Archive: Nita Lowey (@NitaLowey) May 24, 2017
Even the dictionary had something to say:
Huh. We say poverty is the condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support.https://t.co/HBXsKo83sQ https://t.co/IRdMSW93eC
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) May 24, 2017
RELATED: Samuel L. Jackson doesn’t back down after ripping into Ben Carson
Others defended Carson’s comments:
As disappointed as I am in Ben Carson, I am pretty sure there is important context left out of this quote. https://t.co/NLfyHVoucn
— 🌻🌻 Buster & Missy Angels 🌻🌻 (@lkoneal) May 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/matthew_wester/status/867472642659536896
To be fair, he also has more personal experience with poverty than probably most of the DC journos snarking about this https://t.co/FBHSGn1Ec6
— Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) May 24, 2017
Carson’s full comments can be heard below, courtesy of Sirius XM:
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