In a NewsMax TV interview on Monday morning, Ben Carson claimed that he endorsed Trump on Friday because the GOP frontrunner promised him a spot in his administration if he wins the presidency. Carson admitted that, aside from that offer, he prefers any of the other candidates instead.
I didn't see a path for [John] Kasich, who I like, or for [Marco] Rubio, who I like. As far as [Ted] Cruz is concerned, I don't think he's gonna be able to draw independents and Democrats unless has has some kind of miraculous change. ... Is there another scenario that I would have preferred? Yes. But that scenario isn't available.
Carson didn't realize he was incriminating himself when he told NewsMax TV's Steve Malzberg that the potential of scoring an advisory position alongside Trump made the endorsement most attractive. Though candidates who have suspended their campaigns generally side with frontrunners in the hopes of scoring an election to Vice President, it's illegal to make that promise... or at least to disclose that the promise was made. Carson's endorsement of the most outspoken candidate — Trump most notably compared him to a child-molestor in November — was a little surprising, but this new tidbit of info changes everything.
In the same NewsMax interview, Carson justified why he believes Trump is the best man for the job, but didn't seem adequately convinced himself.
Even if Donald Trump turns out not to be such a great president, which I don't think is the case, I think he's going to surround himself with really good people, but even if he didn't, we're only looking at four years as opposed to multiple generations and perhaps the loss of the American dream forever.
Throughout his campaign, Trump has proudly owned, and even repeated the majority of his controversial statements, making it difficult to disarm the candidate by revealing scandal. Instead, Trump himself has benefited from and even encouraged the controversy. For example, the frontrunner defended and stuck to his previous statement to Anderson Cooper that "Islam hates us" during the March 10 GOP debate in Miami, Florida.
I mean a lot of them. I mean a lot of them. There's tremendous hatred, and I will stick with exactly what I said to Anderson Cooper.
For only the second time in the race, Trump may have to convince the public that he's retracted his initial statements. The first time the frontrunner ensured the public he didn't say something was after his delayed denouncement of KKK leader David Duke's endorsement. Now that Carson accidentally disclosed their "liquid" agreement, the candidate may face fines and even jail time. According to U.S. Code, it's illegal to strike such deals.
Whoever, being a candidate, directly or indirectly promises or pledges the appointment, or the use of his influence or support for the appointment of any person to any public or private position or employment, for the purpose of procuring support in his candidacy shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
Maybe Trump isn't as clever of a negotiator as he's led the American public to believe.
