Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson said on Sunday he wasn’t exaggerating when he suggested that limiting access to guns in the U.S. could hinder Americans’ ability to topple a government authority like the Nazis.

In a new book, Carson writes the Holocaust would have been less deadly had Germans been armed. "The likelihood of Hitler being able to accomplish his goals would have been greatly diminished if the people had been armed," he told CNN on Thursday as to his theory about Hitler's murder of 6 million Jews.

Appearing Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," Carson said the history of the Nazis' rise to power could repeat in the U.S. if access to guns were to be limited.

“It’s not hyperbole at all,” the retired neurosurgeon said. “Whether it’s on our doorstep or whether it’s 50 years away, it’s still a concern, and it’s something we must defend against.”

“There are a lot of people in the media who will take anything you say and try to make it into hyperbole and try to make it into controversy,” Carson said.

Asked about the looming showdown between Democrats and Republicans over raising the U.S. debt ceiling, Carson said he’d allow an increase one last time.

“I would not cause us to default on that,” he said. “I would say this is the last time that’s happening. We would tie the raising of that debt limit to some very significant actions so that we’re not here again next year.”

“That’s a stupid way to run the government,” he said.