REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Ben Carson.
- HUD Secretary Ben Carson has reportedly talked a lot about apocalyptic scenarios over the last several months.
- A Washington Post article notes that Carson has mentioned a possible North Korean nuclear attack, along with the films "Independence Day" and "The Purge."
- Carson reportedly stated that a global catastrophe would unite people across ideological and cultural lines.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson reportedly raised some eyebrows during the holiday season when he apparently couldn't stop talking about the apocalypse, according to the Washington Post.
Carson, who was a world-renowned surgeon before running for president in 2016 and subsequently joining President Donald Trump's cabinet, reportedly spoke with guests at a Capitol Hill holiday party in December about a possible North Korean nuclear attack.
"Did you know that if North Korea detonated a nuclear weapon into our exosphere, it could take out our entire electrical grid?" Carson asked, according to the Post.
When his acting chief of staff Deana Bass replied that she did not, Carson pressed on.
"What's that movie where there's complete lawlessness and anarchy for one night a year?" Carson asked. "'The Purge'! It will be like 'The Purge' all the time."
A sequel to "The Purge" used the tagline "Keep America Great," which Trump had also planned to use for his 2020 reelection campaign.
Carson had also made comments about an apocalyptic attack during a restaurant party attended by reporters, nonprofit representatives, and Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. This time, he compared the scenario to another movie, "Independence Day."
"There's never been a time in the history of the world where a society became divided like this and did well," Carson said. "And we don't really have a reason to be fighting each other. There was a movie some years ago, a Will Smith movie called 'Independence Day.'"
Carson went on to say that an "Independence Day"-like catastrophe would unite even hardened enemies like Palestinians and Israelis to be "like best friends."
Despite having no experience with crafting public housing policy, Carson asked Trump to nominate him to be the HUD secretary reportedly because he grew up "near" public housing in Detroit.