Dr. Ben Carson memorably quipped that he wanted someone to attack him during Thursday night’s Republican presidential debate on CNN because he was far behind other candidates in speaking time and an afterthought on the stage.
The comment fits a pattern for the retired neurosurgeon, who has joked or complained about not getting enough time at several debates.
"Thank you for including me in the debate," Carson said waspishly at the CBS South Carolina debate earlier this month. "Two questions already. This is great."
"Well thank you, Megyn," Carson said to host Megyn Kelly at the first GOP debate back in August on Fox News. "I wasn't sure I was going to get to talk again."
"I'm very happy to get a question this early on," Carson said at the Fox Business debate in January. "I was going to ask you to wake me up when the time came."
"I want to say something about this, because I'm not just here to add beauty to the stage," he said sarcastically upon receiving a question during the ABC debate in New Hampshire.
"First of all, let me just complain a little bit," Carson told Wolf Blitzer during a CNN debate. "It's the first time I've spoken, and several people have had multiple questions, so please try to pay attention to that."
At another Fox News debate in January, Carson seemed caught off guard when Kelly informed him a viewer question was for him, saying, "Oh, OK, great," and bursting into laughter.
Carson's campaign hasn't gained traction in the last few primaries, but he hasn't lost his sense of humor.