‘He needs friends on the outside’: Why Ben Carson won’t serve in Trump’s cabinet

Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who contested for the Republican primary election, will not join the administration of Donald Trump, US president-elect.

Carson had been touted as the next US education secretary.

But the renowned doctor said he would be advising Trump from the outside in order to give him an accurate picture of what the people feel, and are saying about him.

Carson also refuted reports that he declined to serve in Trump’s presidency because he lacked the required experience for public office.

“My decision not to seek a cabinet position in the Trump administration has nothing to do with the complexity of the job as is being reported by some news outlets,” he said in a message on Facebook.

“I believe it is vitally important for the Trump administration to have many outspoken friends and advisers who are outside of the Washington bubble.

“It is vital to have independent voices of reason and reconciliation if our nation is to heal and regain its greatness. I will continue to work with the transition team and beyond as we build a dynamite executive branch of government.”

He later told Washington Post that: “The way I’m leaning is to work from the outside and not from the inside. I want to have the freedom to work on many issues and not be pigeonholed into one particular area.

“I’ve said that if it came to a point where he absolutely needs me, I’d reconsider. But I don’t think that’s the situation with these positions.

“My view is that if some people and the media are going to hate him, then he’s going to need allies on the outside to be there, to be there to move the country forward. I don’t care about a position.”