Ben Carson, the famed neurosurgeon who delivered a bold speech critical of President Barack Obama at last year's National Prayer Breakfast, is reportedly warming up to the idea of a presidential run.
Carson told the Weekly Standard this week that he's "starting to feel" a tug to possibly run for national office, highlighting the intense response he gets when he travels around the nation speaking about contemporary issues.
He spoke specifically about a woman whom he said truly touched him when she implored him to seek the presidency.
Dr. Benjamin Carson speaks during the National Prayer Breakfast, Feb. 7, 2013 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
"She just kept clinging to my hand and said, ‘You have to run. You have to run,'" Carson told the Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes. "And so many people tell me that, and so I think I’m starting to hear something."
But Carson said he's fully aware that running for president is no easy feat.
"It’s a daunting thing," he said. "I know how vehemently the left will come after you, try to destroy you, try to destroy your family."
Carson continued, "But at the same time I recognize that people like Nathan Hale -- he said, 'My only regret is I have but one life to give to my country' … and if everybody runs for the hills because they’re afraid that somebody is going to attack them or their family, then [the left] will have won."
AP
Carson retired last year from his position at Johns Hopkins Hospital where he was a world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon.
In the past he has said that he had not yet felt the "call" to run, so an indication that he might be "starting to feel" that tug could be an interesting development, though it's unclear how fervent he was in making this statement.
"If I felt called by God to officially enter the world of politics, I would certainly not hesitate to do so," Carson wrote in his book, "One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America's Future."
(H/T: Mediaite)
