Ben Carson says he rejected an offer from Obama to serve as surgeon general

(Image credit: Kirk Irwin/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

published 19 July 2016

Ben Carson may not be the American electorate's first choice for president, but the retired neurosurgeon claims he's been called to serve his country in the past. In an interview on Fox News Radio's Alan Colmes Show, originally spotted by BuzzFeed, Carson said he was offered the job of surgeon general of the United States by not one but two presidential administrations and both times, he respectfully declined.

"You know George W. Bush offered me that position. The Obama administration, before they found out who I really was, offered me that position," Carson told Colmes. "I'm not interested."

Despite his brief flirtation with public office this year, the former Republican presidential candidate maintains that he has no further plans to pursue a career in public service, even under a Trump administration. "I do not want a government position," he said in the interview. Listen to the clip below, courtesy of BuzzFeed. Roxie Pell