President Donald Trump’s move to end diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts is justified, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson told Newsmax Wednesday, arguing the country rose to global prominence by honoring excellence rather than focusing on identity.

“It’s wonderful to have an administration who recognizes that two wrongs don’t make a right and also recognizes that we were already making tremendous progress in terms of diversity before [President Barack] Obama came on the scene and identity politics became so important,” Carson said on “The Record With Greta Van Susteren.”

“You know, one of the reasons that the United States accelerated from a bunch of ragtag militiamen to the pinnacle of the world so rapidly is because we honored excellence.”

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