Ben Carson: 3 things to know about the Republican presidential candidate

The field of Republican presidential candidates is swelling, as former neurosurgeon Ben Carson has officially launched his presidential campaign.

Dr Carson announced his White House ambitions Monday, the same day former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina entered the race. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is expected to launch his campaign on Tuesday.

As one of most respected brain surgeons in the US, Dr Carson is unique among the current crop of Republicans running for president in 2016. Here are three things to know about him:

1. He has never run for public office, much less held a position.

That’s right, this will be Dr Carson’s first political campaign and it is for all the marbles. Only six US presidents have ever been elected to that post without previous elected public service and all of those either had military or cabinet experience.

Despite his inexperience, Dr Carson is one of the most sought after speakers on the Republican circuit and draws a lot of the support from the right of the conservative party.

2. His inexperience has already led to a couple of gaffes.

A presidential run puts all candidates under the brightest of spotlights and Dr Carson has already let his inexperience shine through. He accidentally let slip that he was running for president on a radio show Sunday, having planned to wait until Monday to launch his campaign.

Then there was the whole “prison makes people gay” business. He told CNN in March that being gay was a choice and backed that up by saying “Because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight — and when they come out, they’re gay.”

Later in the same day he said, “I do not pretend to know how every individual came to their sexual orientation. I regret that my words to express that concept were hurtful and divisive. For that I apologize unreservedly to all that were offended.”

3. He has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Dr Carson wrote an autobiography called Gifted Hands that chronicled his rise from a poor childhood in Detroit to becoming a renowned brain surgeon. The book gained him widespread notoriety and was converted into a made-for-TV movie starring Cuba Gooding Jr.

In 2008, then-President George W. Bush awarded Dr Carson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the US. NPR reported that he was notified of his award while performing a seven-hour surgery.

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