It could be argued that Ben Carson, like much of Trump’s administration, is not qualified to hold the very important position of power to which he’s been appointed. At the very least, he’s doesn’t seem very sympathetic to the plight of the poor. His potential incompetence became evident on Tuesday, when the neurosurgeon-turned-presidential candidate-turned-Secretary of Housing and Urban Development publicly confused a basic housing term with an Oreo cookie.
The surreal exchange occurred during a hearing on Capitol Hill, during which Carson was being grilled about the high number of foreclosures overseen by his department. Carson has held the position for two years, which is plenty of time for even a housing neophyte — which Carson was in 2017 — to catch up on basic terminology.
Rep. Katie Palmer wound up being who exposed how little Carson’s gleaned during his tenure. She asked him a rhetorical question, namely: “Do you know an R.E.O. is?” R.E.O., by the way, stands for Real Estate Owned, denoting a property that’s been foreclosed upon.
Carson did not seem to know this. His reply was to ask if she said “Oreo.” Porter then spelled it out for the secretary of HUB. Carson did know (or was able to guess) what the first two letters stood for. When it came for the third, he though the “O” was for “Organization.” At this point, Porter simply explained what it meant.
At least he didn’t confuse it with the band that recorded “Wheel in the Sky”? Either way, Fox News quickly sprang to Carson’s defense, claiming Democrats were trying to “stump” him with “obscure acronyms.” But as Vanity Fair points out, R.E.O. is an everyday term in Carson’s field.
As one can imagine, social media had a field day with this. But let’s start at the top, namely Democratic politicians who were not amused someone at such a lofty position seems to know nothing of their field.
.@SecretaryCarson can’t distinguish between a cookie and a home that’s been foreclosed on. Luckily, @RepKatiePorter was able to school him on the difference. https://t.co/Rh1ETeCZDw
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) May 21, 2019
Some were horrified that he’s forgotten his own roots.
Dr. Ben Carson grew up in public housing. He writes about it in "Gifted Hands." His callousness and arrogance in the face of questioning by a member of Congress is breathtaking. https://t.co/zjvZ7noVYT
— Mkay (@JoyAnnReid) May 21, 2019
honest question. why does he want this job? he'd make more money speaking for conservative groups. he clearly has zero interest in doing the job well. just resign, Dr. Carson. https://t.co/jKdEfiREi2
— John Legend (@johnlegend) May 21, 2019
Even some comics who mostly use social media for jokes were just flat-out disturbed.
Hahaha it’s funny that you are not qualified for your job and you treat it as a joke and your salary that you don’t need or deserve comes from people who pay taxes (the money they pay actually makes a difference in their day-to-day lives), good one Ben Carson, Secretary of HUD https://t.co/r5YwmoSwzw
— Paul F. Tompkins (@PFTompkins) May 21, 2019
Others pointed out that Carson simply has the wrong job, if he should have any.
One of Trump's weirdest decisions was making a world renowned surgeon the head of Housing instead of making him Surgeon General or putting him in charge of Health and Human Services. Just makes no sense at all. https://t.co/PG1pt7EBbv
— The Honorable Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) May 21, 2019
Okay, here’s some jokes, albeit mostly of the gallows humor variety.
Once again congrats to Ben Carson on single-handedly reversing the meaning of “It’s not brain surgery”
— Jess Dweck (@TheDweck) May 21, 2019
Do you know what a house is?
Ben Carson: Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies?— Mr. Newberger (@jeremynewberger) May 21, 2019
At this point, I'm not even sure Ben Carson knows what HUD stands for. https://t.co/pb4WvvTqmi
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) May 21, 2019
https://twitter.com/ManlnTheHoody/status/1130909186680795136
He absolutely should not be the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and it's the cruelest possible joke that he somehow is, but I would dearly like to know what Ben Carson's average workday is like. https://t.co/5nXA8o8wdh
— David Roth (@david_j_roth) May 21, 2019
you guys can make fun of Ben Carson all you want – I dream of a world where no one has even a fundamental understanding of what they're supposed to be doing at work
— Law Boy (@The_Law_Boy) May 21, 2019
https://twitter.com/funder/status/1130980107307372544
While we are waiting on impeachment can Ben Carson come back to testify again?
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) May 21, 2019
Carson tried to have the last laugh, brushing it off as though he didn’t hear her right (while ignoring that he couldn’t answer what the term stood for).
OH, REO! Thanks, @RepKatiePorter. Enjoying a few post-hearing snacks. Sending some your way! pic.twitter.com/q4MMTBWVUI
— Archive: Ben Carson (@SecretaryCarson) May 21, 2019
But let’s not end on that. Let’s end with a reminder that by his boss’ standards, Carson is doing a five-star job.
https://twitter.com/pattymo/status/1130942641531695107
As much fun as folks had with @SecretaryCarson today, please do not forget that he tried to justify the eviction of more than 55,000 children from public housing, all of whom are U.S. citizens and legal residents and are therefore entitled to that benefit. https://t.co/07PfyX4UpA
— Jamil Smith جميل كريم (@JamilSmith) May 21, 2019