Ben Carson in CNN "State of the Union" interviews during 2015

On Abortion: Was personally against abortion; but what others do matters

A: I made no bones about the fact that I used to be a Democrat. Over the course of time, my views have changed dramatically. In 1992, I personally was against abortion, but I was not for causing anybody else to do anything. I changed because I began to think about, if abolitionists a long time ago had said, "I don't believe in slavery, but anybody else can do it if they want to," where would we be today?

On Foreign Policy: Leave no doubt that we will stand with South Korea

A: Well, I think it highlights the necessity of us taking a very strong stance for our allies. South Korea is our ally. There should be no doubt about that in anybody's mind, including North Korea, that we will stand with our allies, no matter what is going on.

On Immigration: Use drones to destroy smuggler hide-outs on Mexican border

A: I said that the drones are excellent for surveillance. In no way did I suggest that drones be used to kill people. We have a huge security risk [at the border], and it seems like we have not only the cartels to deal with, the drug smugglers, the people smugglers, but we have the federal government, which is not being helpful. Over the last couple of years, they have released 67,000 people.

Q: But you said that you were considering drone strikes on cartels down there at the border.

A: No, that's a lie. What I said is, it's possible that a drone could be used to destroy the caves that are utilized to hide people.

Q: Who would be hidden in these caves?

A: The scouts. There are caves that they utilize. Those caves can be eliminated. I am not talking about killing people. We have excellent military people and military strategists; we need to get them involved.