Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson said in a new interview that President Obama was “raised white” and suggested that if elected president he might be the first African-American to hold the position.
Carson said in an interview with Politico’s Glenn Thrush published Tuesday: “He’s an ‘African’ American. He was, you know, raised white. Many of his formative years were spent in Indonesia. So, for him to, you know, claim that, you know, he identifies with the experience of black Americans, I think, is a bit of a stretch.”
The president’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was a white woman who was originally from Kansas. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was originally from Kenya and is black. They eventually divorced and his father died in a car accident in 1982. Obama moved to Indonesia with his mother and stepfather and lived there from 1967 to 1971.
“I mean, like most Americans, I was proud that we broke the color barrier when he was elected, but … he didn’t grow up like I grew up,” Carson added.
