Dr. Ben Carson, who is considering a 2016 Republican presidential run, reiterated his provocative opinion that the United States is comparable to Nazi Germany.

Carson, asked Wednesday in an interview Wednesday with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer whether he would like to qualify or retract his comparison, said “absolutely not.”

In March, the prominent retired neurosurgeon and author had made the analogy in an interview with the conservative outlet Breitbart News. He said then that the U.S. government uses “its tools to intimidate the population.”

On Wednesday, Carson told Blitzer that the pressure to be politically correct is an issue of liberty affecting the entire country.

“You can go out on the street and just talk to people,” said Carson, 63, of Maryland. “And you will see that a lot of people do not feel free to express themselves.”

Carson told CNN that he was “putting together the infrastructure” for a presidential campaign in case he decides to run.

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