Ben Carson tries PR in Baltimore after Trump insult, winds up in alley

The HUD secretary thought it was a good idea to hold a press conference on vacant church property, but was quickly shown off of it

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson speaks during a news conference after touring the Hollins House, a high rise building housing seniors and persons with disabilities, during a trip to Baltimore, Wednesday, July 31, 2019. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In the house of the Lord, all are welcome but apparently Ben Carson’s invite got confiscated.

The Housing and Urban Development Secretary got booted off of property owned by a church in Baltimore on Wednesday after trying to promote President Trump’s political agenda there.

Carson, who is also the only African American in Trump’s cabinet, attempted to win over Baltimore citizens in a press conference in Southwest Baltimore to defend Trump’s remarks about the city last week, the Baltimore Sun reported.

READ MORE: Michelle Obama, Victor Blackwell respond to Trump’s racist Baltimore rant

Carson’s staffers showed up to a vacant lot owned by the Morning Star Baptist Church of Christ in Baltimore on Wednesday, but wouldn’t be there long. The HUD officials planned the event in the wake of controversial tweets from Trump about Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings and the district he serves, which includes much of Baltimore. Carson and his team attempted to set up but was then stopped by church member Gregory Evans, who reportedly asked the crew to leave because they hadn’t received permission to be there.

Evans told The Sun ,”It’s nothing personal, I didn’t know it was Secretary Carson. I just know there were a bunch of people over there that were taking over our site. And we said, ‘Why are they here?’ They’ve not even asked for permission to be here.”

But that didn’t stop the press conference from happening. Carson moved to a nearby alley to hold the conference where he made sure to mention that he was asked to leave the church premises.

“We just have all this animosity all the time,” Carson said. “For instance, you guys know, you were set up on this property, and right here is this church that said: ‘Get off our property.’ You know, a church? When we’re talking about helping the people. I mean, this is the level to which we have sunken as a society.”

“What I’m saying is, you know, we have a society in which people, instead of trying to be helpful, think only about themselves. That is a problem,” he said during the press conference, when questioned by reporters to explain himself.

READ MORE: Cummings’ supporters post pics of poverty-stricken GOP-run districts in response to Trump

Most of his time during the conference was used to help dilute the backlash against Trump after his comment about Cummings and Baltimore calling the city a “disgusting rat and rodent infested mess” and a “very dangerous and filthy place.”

Carson worked in Baltimore for more than three decades and rose to fame for his groundbreaking surgeries at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He said Baltimore, like a cancer patient, cannot sweep its challenges under the rug.

“You can dress them up and put a nice suit on them, and you can try to ignore it, but that cancer is going to have a devastating effect,” Carson said. “You have to be willing to address that issue if you are ever going to solve it.”


The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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