Carson says Hitler scenario could happen in U.S.

MANCHESTER, N.H., Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Ben Carson, Republican presidential candidate, suggested a regime similar to Nazi Germany's is possible in the United States.

"If you go back and look at the history of the world, tyranny and despotism and how it starts, it has a lot to do with control of thought and control of speech. If people don't speak up for what they believe, then other people will change things without them having a voice. Hitler changed things there and nobody protested. Nobody provided any opposition to him," he said at a New Hampshire campaign stop Wednesday.

Carson immediately clarified he was not referring to President Barack Obama, without elaborating to whom his comparison was directed, adding, "I am saying in a situation where people do not express themselves, bad things can happen."

Last week Carson said he would not consider a Muslim candidate running for president, and has since said he would reject any public servant putting Islam over the U.S. Constitution.

In a number of recent Republican presidential polls, Carson currently ranks second in voter preference behind Donald Trump.