--- title: Republican Convention: Watch Ben Carson's Speech description: "Are we willing to elect someone as president who has as their role model somebody who acknowledges Lucifer?" canonical: https://time.com/4414254/republican-convention-ben-carson-speech-transcript-video/ author: Will Drabold article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-20T03:56:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:23:05.375Z article:section: Politics og:title: Watch Ben Carson Speak at the Republican Convention og:description: He spoke about Saul Alinsky and Lucifer. og:url: https://time.com/4414254/republican-convention-ben-carson-speech-transcript-video/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7eb7f6873814e3d/69889cad2dce01f9179e9eb0/ben-carson-rnc-republican-national-convention-day-2-47.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME RNC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Ben Carson Speak at the Republican Convention twitter:description: He spoke about Saul Alinsky and Lucifer. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd7eb7f6873814e3d/69889cad2dce01f9179e9eb0/ben-carson-rnc-republican-national-convention-day-2-47.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch Ben Carson Speak at the Republican Convention by [Will Drabold](https://time.com/author/will-drabold/) ## Will Drabold Jul 20, 2016 3:56 AM UTC  Retired neurosurgeon and former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks during the second day of the Republican National Convention on July 19, 2016 in Cleveland. Retired neurosurgeon and former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks during the second day of the Republican National Convention on July 19, 2016 in Cleveland.Riccardo Savi—Sipa by [Will Drabold](https://time.com/author/will-drabold/) ## Will Drabold Jul 20, 2016 3:56 AM UTC Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson argued that one of Hillary Clinton’s mentors dedicated a book to Lucifer in a speech to the Republican convention on Tuesday. The former presidential candidate, who came to fame after a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, noted that Clinton [wrote her senior thesis](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/us/politics/05clinton.html?%5Fr=0) on Saul Alinsky, a sometimes sardonic community activist who wrote about organizational tactics for grassroots groups. Carson then noted that on [the dedication page](https://www.amazon.com/Rules-Radicals-Practical-Primer-Realistic/dp/0679721134/?tag=timecom-20) for his book “Rules for Radicals,” Alinksy gives an “over-the-shoulder acknowledgment” to Lucifer—”who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom.” (The page also quotes Thomas Paine and Rabbi Hillel.) “This is a nation where every coin in our pocket, and every bill in our wallet says, “In God We Trust,'” Carson said. “So, are we willing to elect someone as president who has as their role model somebody who acknowledges Lucifer? Think about that.” Read Carsons’ full remarks, as delivered: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4414254/republican-convention-ben-carson-speech-transcript-video/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4414254/republican-convention-ben-carson-speech-transcript-video/"},"headline":"Watch Ben Carson Speak at the Republican Convention","datePublished":"2016-07-20T03:56:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:23:05.375Z","description":"\"Are we willing to elect someone as president who has as their role model somebody who acknowledges Lucifer?\"","url":"https://time.com/4414254/republican-convention-ben-carson-speech-transcript-video/","keywords":["Republican National Convention","2016 Election topic","Dr. Benjamin S. 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