GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson said late Wednesday that he could not stay awake during the first Democratic presidential debate.

“I watched most of it. I kept falling asleep,” he told host Megyn Kelly on Fox News’s “The Kelly File.” “When I woke up, I would see parts.”

{mosads}“The candidates really seemed to embrace the philosophy of this current administration,” Carson said, referencing President Obama’s White House. “It is that philosophy that has led us to this very dismal place.”

“I don’t think most people think we are heading in the right direction,” the retired neurosurgeon added, saying the debate highlighted an opportunity for Republicans.

“When people come around and start talking about free college and free phones and free this and free that, it is not free,” he said, citing promises many of the Democratic presidential candidates made during the debate.

“It sets up 2016 to be a magnificent time in the world of politics because we will be able to contrast a system that is of, for and by the people with a system that is of, for and by the government,” Carson said.

“We will be able to explain to people what the national debt means, what the fiscal gap means, how this is a house of cards that’s about to collapse,” he added.

Carson also took umbrage with the Democratic contenders’ overall message on race during Tuesday night’s debate.

“It’s so typical of political correctness in this country,” he said of questions over the Black Lives Matter movement.

“Of course all lives matter, and all lives includes black lives,” said Carson, who is African-American.

“We have to stop submitting to those who want to divide us up into special interest groups and start thinking about what works for everybody,” he added.

“There are a lot of policies this administration has embraced that hurt black lives, that hurt all people who are in the underclass.”