Presidential candidate Ben Carson: Obama will look at the unemployment rate and then lie to you like a 'psychopath'

Carson, a retired neurosurgeon and conservative author, pointed to President Barack Obama's alleged comfort in lying to the public. He cited the unemployment rate as an example of this.

"I said he reminds you of a psychopath, because they tend to be extremely smooth, charming people who can tell a lie to your face with complete - it looks like sincerity, even though they know it's a lie. I think he knows full well that the unemployment rate is not 5.5%. He knows that," Carson told CNBC's John Harwood.

(The interview aired before Friday's jobs report, in which the unemployment rate dropped to 5.4%.)

Carson was likely referencing the debate over how the Bureau of Labor Statistics defines the unemployment rate. Some conservatives have called for more attention to be paid to those who have given up looking for a job, whom the most commonly used statistic excludes.

Carson, repeating an argument he's previously made, said Obama's administration is willing to manipulate the unemployment number in order to paint a more positive portrait of the economy.  

"He knows that people who are not well-informed will swallow it hook, line, and sinker - even though they are sitting there in the city and can't find a job," Carson said. 

Watch his CNBC interview below: