Two more candidates have just joined the race for President of the United States in 2016. Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson officially launched their respective campaigns on Monday, May 4, bringing the total number of presidential hopefuls thus far to seven (eight if you count Jeb Bush, who has yet to announce his bid but, according to Nicolle Wallace, is definitely running).
Republican Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, declared her intent to run on Good Morning America, telling George Stephanopoulos, "I think I am the best person for the job because I understand how the economy actually works. I understand the world, who's in it."
She went on to diss the only other female candidate in the race, Hillary Clinton, who announced her bid in early April. "She clearly is not trustworthy about a whole set of things," Fiorina, 60, said of her Democratic counterpart, saying former Secretary of State Clinton had not been "transparent" about certain issues.
Retired neurosurgeon Carson, meanwhile, confirmed his plans to seek the Republican nomination on CBS affiliate WPEC-TV. "I'm willing to be part of the equation and therefore, I'm announcing my candidacy for President of the United States of America," the 63-year-old doc said Sunday, May 3. A more formal launch is expected in his hometown of Detroit on Monday.
Incidentally, Carson already has one White House honor on his resume. Back in 2008, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from then-Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush. He was also the subject of a 2009 TV movie, Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, starring Cuba Gooding Jr.
Carson and Fiorina join an already-crowded Republican race for the nomination, alongside Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and (likely) Bush. Clinton and Bernie Sanders are the only announced Democratic candidates so far, but more are expected over the coming months.
