The fruit salad of our lives: Why Ben Carson thinks you should vote for his hands

Fruit salad: It’s a recipe for success.

Ben Carson didn’t speak much during the CNN/Telemundo Republican presidential debate Thursday night – but when he did, people took notice.

The retired neurosurgeon, whose campaign has been flailing since his surge in the polls last fall, raised eyebrows when he shared his process for selecting a Supreme Court judge and dwelled on the magnificence of his hands.

During closing statements, the last-place GOP candidate encouraged voters to think about what kind of leader they want and what kind of person they would want their children to emulate. Then he shifted his focus to his hands.

“Secondly, several years ago, a movie was made about these hands. These hands by the grace of God have saved many lives and healed many families,” Carson said. “And I’m asking you tonight, America, to join hands with me to heal, inspire and revive America. If not us, who? And if not now, when?”

The movie he referenced is “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story,” a made-for-TV drama starring Cuba Gooding Jr. about Carson’s inspirational rise from poverty in inner-city Detroit to national acclaim as a pediatric surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital. In December, Carson America channeled the biopic for an ad, saying that his hands are working to heal the United States.

Ben Carson released an ad in December saying that his hands are working to heal the nation. (Photo: Carson America)

While Carson’s hands comment was odd, it wasn’t his strangest musing of the evening.

He also surprised viewers with his metaphor for how he would select a nominee for the Supreme Court, saying he would look into his or her life story, including past actions, judgments and associations — in other words, the person’s lifelong “fruit salad.”

“That will tell you a lot more than an interview will tell you. The fruit salad of their life is what I will look at,” he said.

Following the debate, Carson clarified the “fruit salad” statement, attributing its origin to the Bible.

“There’s a verse in the Bible that says, ‘By their fruit, you will know them,’” Carson told ABC News. “So, obviously, you know, how they live their lives, what it produces, that’s the fruit salad of their life.”

As in the past, Carson did not get nearly as much speaking time as his competitors, and he spoke out against the skewed debate attention.

“First of all, people say I whine a lot because I don’t get time. I’m going to whine. I didn’t get asked about taxes. I didn’t get asked about Israel. Hugh [Hewitt], you said you’re going to be fair to everybody.”

One reason business mogul Donald Trump got more time than the other candidates is because — as the frontrunner — he was attacked frequently, and the rules allow candidates to respond when they are mentioned by name.

During a tense exchange among the other candidates, Carson drew laughter and applause from the crowd by asking for someone to criticize him, which would give him more speaking time: “Can somebody attack me please?”

(Cover tile photo: David J. Phillip/AP)