This is why we can't have nice things.
A tale of two people arises today. One of them is an esteemed medical practitioner, a pediatric neurosurgeon without peer, who did brain surgeries at Johns Hopkins, one of the world's foremost teaching hospitals. Oh, and he ran for president as a Republican, abandoning the run when it became clear it wasn't in the cards. That would be Dr. Ben Carson.
The other is a progressive Democratic Senate candidate who earned his medical degree at Columbia University and a D.Phil. in public health from Oxford, but never completed a residency, obtained a medical license, or practiced clinical medicine. That would be Abdul El-Sayed.
Their medical careers could hardly be more different. Yet the New York Times has referred to the retired neurosurgeon as “Mr. Carson” while calling El-Sayed “Dr. El-Sayed.”
Dr. Carson himself had a quick reply.
Someone should ask Johns Hopkins. They had me perform brain surgery for decades.
— Ben & Candy Carson (@RealBenCarson) October 16, 2026
The Washington Examiner's Byron York brought us the startling comparison.
Perhaps there are reasons of style policy involved, but reading New York Times coverage of Dr. El-Sayed, and remembering Times 2016 coverage of renowned brain surgeon Ben Carson makes you wonder: Did Carson ever get an MD? https://t.co/E5Ol6LV8Fx
— Byron York (@ByronYork) October 16, 2026
The images Mr. York presents tell the tale: Not once, but several times, the NYT referred to Ben Carson, the brilliant neurosurgeon, as "Mr. Carson," and Abdul El-Sayed as "Dr." El-Sayed. Now, tell me there's no bias there.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, Dr. Carson's bona fides are considerable. He is a world renowned pediatric neurosurgeon, who has successfully done a procedure many thought impossible, separating twins conjoined at the cranium. He was the youngest practitioner ever to serve as Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. That was in 1984, three years before his ground-breaking separation operation. He refined and perhaps perfected the hemispherectomy procedure, which is useful for treating patients with severe epilepsy. Dr. Carson is a practitioner of historic import, a teacher, and for his efforts was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, over 70 honorary doctoral degrees, received the Springarn Medal from the NAACP, and was named a member of "America's Best Leaders" by the publication U.S. News & World Report in 2008.
Mister El-Sayed, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have accomplished much other than furthering climate change with his near-continual outpourings of hot air. And yet, this is the man the New York Times refers to as "Dr." while Ben Carson gets a "Mr."
Look, I have nothing against the honorific "Mister." That's what I go by. That's what most American men go by. But Dr. Carson has earned the title of Medical Doctor in a way few have, and it's rather insulting for the New York Times to continually refer to him as "Mr. Carson," and it becomes more insulting when the phony-baloney El-Sayed, who never practiced clinical medicine, is described as "Dr. El-Sayed." It doesn’t make any sense — until you remember that Dr. Carson is a Republican, while Mr. El-Sayed is a commie.
And people in the legacy media wonder why the American people don't trust them anymore.
Dr. Jill Biden was not available to comment.
Editor's Note: This article was updated post-publication for clarity.
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