The news that Ben Carson
will be continuing give paid speeches for fees of $40,000+ per appearance in spite of being a presidential candidate is, I have to say, unsurprising. While it's unusual, giving paid speeches is what Ben Carson does now. It's that or needlepoint, and Ben Carson is all out of needlepoint.
I do wonder if his famous ability to fit his foot in his mouth is going to complicate things, though:
Candidates who give paid speeches risk violating campaign finance laws, says Larry Noble, senior counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, a campaign finance legal advocacy group. When Carson now gives a paid speech, he cannot mention his candidacy or refer to his presidential campaign, because if he does so that would make the event a campaign speech from a legal perspective.
... and you're not allowed to give $40,000+ checks to a presidential candidate directly, because until the Roberts court gets around to nixing them there are still laws about that. So Ben Carson has to navigate each one of these speeches without mentioning his campaign once, and this is a fellow who's not known for navigating tricky ground in appearances without having to issue an apology a few days later.
So we'll see. Mind you, it's still possible that Carson isn't serious at all about running for president and is just doing that in order to milk his time in the lucrative conservative speaking circuit for a few dollars more. His campaign hasn't done much, but the fundraising? The fundraising has been going on for years.