Ben Carson to Newsmax: Hamas Hijacks the Narrative

Hamas is controlling the message in its war with Israel and the kidnapping and release of the hostages it took in an Oct. 7 attack, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson said Wednesday on Newsmax.

"I'm concerned about the fact that Hamas is using this opportunity to terrorize and manipulate the world," Carson said on "Newsline." "This is heaven, like candy for them to have the whole world sitting there and waiting for what they have to say."

But at some point, Carson said, "We have to recognize that these are horrible people. They're terrorists. They killed babies. They kidnapped innocent people. They would do anything they want because they feel that they're the righteous ones. [They think] that the people who don't agree with them are the infidels and, therefore, you can kill them. You can lie to them. You can do anything and it really doesn't count against you."

Carson's remarks came as he was commenting on the news that Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old with Israeli-American citizenship and the lone American hostage to be released by Hamas, is related to a Biden appointee.

Liz Hirsh Naftali, the girl's great-aunt, was appointed to the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad. She also bought one of Hunter Biden's paintings through a New York art gallery, leading to calls for her to give statements to the House Oversight Committee in its investigation of President Joe Biden.

Carson said Wednesday that as the Biden administration "isn't particularly transparent," it likely won't be volunteering information about the connections.

"It's very suspicious looking, but I'm delighted that any hostages get released, regardless of what their connections are," Carson said. "We need to get them all out and as soon as possible."

Carson also commented on the news that childhood pneumonia cases are surging in China, saying there is still not enough information to make any conclusions.

"It doesn't appear to be a novel virus or something that we've never seen or dealt with before," he said. "It seems to be a return of some of the things that were already familiar with."

The "most important thing" to remember from the COVID-19 pandemic, Carson added, is "not to go overboard in terms of restrictions and mandates."

"When you look at the damage that they did to not only our economy, but what it did to the education of our children, these are things from which we will be recovering for decades," he said. "We must learn those lessons and not allow ourselves to be manipulated. They were tough lessons, hard lessons, and disinformation didn't help us get to the truth as fast as we could have."

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