Satire – Ben Carson 2016

Videos:

“Young Ben Carson” SNL 11/14/2015

Recently Saturday Night Live poked fun at the latest events and controversies surrounding Carson. The skit was about a young Ben Carson (played by Jay Pharoah) and was sculpted around his own writing and speeches. Much of the sketch was focused on a story in his bestselling memoir, Gifted Hands, in which Carson’s bad temper caused him to throw a knife at a friend during an argument. Luckily Carson did not hurt his friend claiming he, “Probably would have seriously injured or killed him, but [his friend] happened to have on a large metal belt buckle under his clothing, upon which the blade broke.” This event was an important moment to Carson which led him to reflect on his life and eventually become more religious.
Highlights Include:

An unforgettable state of rage
- CNN looked into Carson’s past, and talked to nine people who knew him during his childhood. None recalled Carson having a temper and expressed disbelief at the violent stories. Pharoah became “angry” in the sketch by stating, quite calmly, he was angry.
An attempted stabbing that was stopped by a belt buckle
- Once entered into the state of “rage” Pharoah tried to stab his friend, but was stopped by his belt buckle. “Oh man, blocked by a belt buckle. This happens all the time.”(Pharoah) He also came at his mother with a hammer, who was able to avoid injury by placing a belt buckle over her head.
Telling his mother about the threat of prison
- Pharaoh referred to a controversial statement by Carson earlier, by saying “I can’t go to prison mama, people go to prison straight and come out gay.” (Pharoah) Carson’s direct quote was, “Because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight — and when they come out, they’re gay.” (Carson)
An appearance from Black Jesus
- Kenan Thompson greets Pharoah as Black Jesus after his fit of rage and tells him he made humans as the most evolved species. To which Pharoah replied, “But evolution isn’t real or we’d have the fossils to prove it, and those fossils don’t exist.” (Pharoah) This section of the sketch was referring to Carson’s religious practices as well as his belief that evolution isn’t real.

“Donald Trump & Ben Carson Watch Democratic Debate” The Tonight Show 10/14/15

A day after the last Democratic debate, Jimmy Fallon and David Alan Grier graced the Tonight Show with spoof of Donald Trump and Ben Carson. The two were gabbing on the phone, sharing their opinions about Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, and Bernie Sanders, during the debate. Fallon portrayed an over dramatic, loud Trump, while Grier was a super calm Carson. The two played off each other poking fun at the two canidates. We learned Carson somehow gets “four hours of sleep per hour”, his quiet whisper is “only audible to dogs”, and he likes to mention Hitler frequently without warning.

“Ben Carson: Popeyes Survivor and “Real” Black President” The Daily Show with Trevor Noah 10/9/15

In this segment of the daily show, Trevor Noah sheds light on an instance where Ben Carson was almost shot at a Popeyes restaurant as well as a tweet sent out by Rupert Murdoch. Poking fun at Carson, Trevor Noah points out that Carson called a Popeyes restaurant a “Popeyes organization.” Carson apparently told the gunman he was looking for the man behind the counter, in order to avoid the dangerous situation. Although he avoided being shot, it doesn’t seem like Carson did much to stop the dangerous situation. Noah also brings up a late-night Twitter endorsement from Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch tweeted in favor of Carson, “a real black President.”

“New Ben Carson 2016 Campaign Commercial” Funny or Die 10/8/15

In this short skit by Funny or Die, a comedy video website, many of Ben Carson’s patients show their support for the presidential candidate. In a darker fashion, each one of the supporters has a giant gash on their forehead, and each have a quirk to them. The man to the right spills his coffee without seeming to notice, while another tries to throw a fish into a basketball hoop. Many of the patients don’t pronounce Ben Carson’s name correctly, or just say a different name entirely. The end of the advertisement even features a screen reading, “Dr. Bern Carpson.”

“The Ben Carson Sleep System” Jimmy Kimmel Live 9/17/2015

The night after the September 16th Republican Debate, Jimmy Kimmel promoted a new product called “Lullaby Ben.” This recent cure for insomnia, is “scientifically proven to help you get sleep,” and features actual sound from Ben Carson himself. The advertisement features a testimonial from a woman who once was very restless in bed, but as soon as she was introduced to the “Lullaby Ben” was able to sleep soundly.

“Let the dulcet tones of Ben Carson put you to sleep and keep you there.”

Articles:

Many satirical articles have been written about Ben Carson. Many focus on the controversial statements he has made as well as his career as a brain surgeon. Posted below are links to some of these articles.