Ben Carson questions how much Obama identifies with black Americans because he was 'raised white'

President Obama is seen as a child with his mother Ann Dunham in an undated family snapshot.

(Image credit: REUTERS/Obama For America/Handout)

published 23 February 2016

Ben Carson isn't convinced President Obama really gets the experience of black Americans. While the retired neurosurgeon says he's certainly "proud that we broke the color barrier when he was elected," Politico reports that Carson doesn't seem convinced that, if elected, "he wouldn't actually be the first" African-American president.

"He's an 'African' American. He was, you know, raised white," Carson said about Obama in an interview with Politico's "Off Message" podcast. "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."

Carson, on the other hand, was raised by a single mother who worked three jobs and sometimes relied on government aid. He says that his upbringing in 1960s Detroit embodies the real black experience that Obama never knew. "Remember now, I've been around for 64 years, you know," Carson said. "I've had a chance to see what real racism is."