NEW YORK — Steve Harvey says he wants to work on affordable housing in Chicago with Ben Carson after meeting with president-elect Donald Trump.
Trump arranged a phone call between Harvey and Carson, the host of "Family Feud" and the Chicago-set "Steve Harvey Show" said as he was leaving Trump Tower in New York Friday.
Harvey, who rents a penthouse near the top of the Trump International Hotel & Tower on the Chicago River, said he was invited to the New York meeting by both the Trump and Obama transition teams.
"It was a really cool meeting in the beginning. (Trump and I) talked a lot about golf and things like that and people we knew and people in common and then we got down to the crux of it," Harvey said.
Trump then arranged the call with Carson, a former political opponent of Trump's who is now nominated to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Harvey, who said his only political agenda is bringing about "positive change in the inner cities," said he and Carson agreed they should focus their efforts on Chicago and Detroit to start. Carson was born and mostly raised in Detroit.
"I want to do some things from all of the major inner cities to see if we can bring about some change and help some of these young people out," Harvey said. "So that’s why I'm here and it was a successful meeting and (Carson) seemed really sincere."
Harvey said he's not jumping into politics, and met with Trump simply because Obama and Trump representatives invited him.
"So I stepped from behind my microphone and I came and talked to the guy that is going to be the 45th president of the United States," Harvey said. "I did what I was supposed to do."
Harvey added he will not attend Trump's inauguration next week because his wife "said no."
Harvey moved to Chicago in 2012 after landing his nationally televised daytime talk show in NBC Tower, but is reportedly moving to Los Angeles in September to debut a new show there.
Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, has been criticized for his lack of experience in government or housing policy. He has been attending confirmation hearings this week in Washington, where he has cited his upbringing in poverty as a qualification to lead HUD.
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