Former Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson made a startling admission in a new interview, essentially saying he didn’t want to endorse Donald Trump but did so because Trump offered him an advisory role if elected. The admission comes just days after Carson endorsed Trump for the GOP nomination for president.
Carson gave an interview to Steve Malzberg of NewsMax TV. First, Carson said he wished he could have endorsed someone else:
CARSON: I have to look at what is practical and what is going to save this country and the American dream for the next generation. Is there another scenario that I would have preferred? Yes. But that scenario isn’t available.
MALZBERG: With one of the other candidates you mean?
Carson: Yeah.
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Secondly, Carson admitted that Trump specifically offered him an advisory role should he be elected president.
DR. BEN CARSON: I do believe, and certainly in my discussions with Donald Trump, he does love America and he does want to be successful. And, he will surround himself with very good people.
NEWSMAX’S STEVE MALZBERG: And will one of them be Dr. Ben Carson?
Carson: I will be doing things as well, yeah.
Malzberg: In the administration.
Carson: Certainly in an advisory capacity.
Malzberg: That’s been determined? You’ve, when you sat down with him that was discussed?
Carson: Yes.
Caleb Howe of the conservative web site RedState noticed the interview and found Carson’s comments quite startling.
“Not the kind of thing one usually spills the beans about, I’d say,” he wrote. “That’s a pretty definitive statement. Carson is saying for sure that Trump promised him a role in his administration. He is implying that this was in exchange for his endorsing Trump.”
“Put it all together and this is what Ben Carson is saying about his Trump endorsement: I would rather have endorsed someone else, Donald Trump engages in the politics of personal destruction, but I endorsed him anyway and he promised me a job,” Howe added. “Wow dude. That’s a heck of an endorsement.”
