Palm Beach, Florida (CNN)Ben
Carson threw his support behind Donald Trump Friday morning, saying the
two men had "buried the hatchet" and praising the Republican Party's
front-runner as a "the voice of the people to be heard."
Speaking
at a news conference here at Trump's private club, Mar-a-Lago, the
retired neurosurgeon echoed Trump's recent calls for party unity and
pleaded with the GOP to allow the "political process to play out."
"What
I've been seeing recently is political operatives ... once again trying
to assert themselves and trying to thwart the will of the people,"
Carson said. "I find that to be an extraordinarily dangerous place right
now."
Carson's endorsement, coming
just one week after he ended his own White House campaign, gives Trump a
significant boost as the Republican nominating contest heads to
critical states like Florida and Ohio on Tuesday. Trump said he did not
make any promises to Carson about a future role in a potential Trump
administration, but pledged that Carson would play a "big, big part" in
his campaign.
Carson -- whose campaign
and demeanor were polar opposites of Trump's in many ways -- played the
role Friday of vouching for Trump's character and integrity. He
explained that there were "two Donald Trumps" -- one that the public
sees, and another more reserved and "cerebral" man who "sits there and
considers things very carefully."
"Some
people have gotten the impression that Donald Trump is this person who
is not malleable, who does not have the ability to listen, and to take
information in and make wise decisions. And that's not true," Carson
said. "He's much more cerebral than that."
Carson
became the second former presidential candidate to back to Trump. New
Jersey Gov. Chris Christie endorsed the businessman two weeks ago.
Earlier
this week, Carson had indicated that he would be open to backing either
Trump or Ted Cruz. Carson and Cruz's relationship hit a rocky patch
around the first GOP primary contest in Iowa, when the Cruz campaign
incorrectly told precinct captains while the caucuses were taking place
that Carson may be dropping out of the race. Carson called on Cruz to
take responsibility and fire whoever was responsible for the "blatant
lying," and Cruz subsequently apologized.
On Friday, Carson -- a Seventh Day Adventist -- insisted that he had no lingering hard feelings towards the Texas senator.
"I have completely forgiven him. That's a duty one has as a Christian," he said.
On
the tense exchanges that he has had with Trump this cycle, Carson said
all of that was also history. "We moved on because it's not about me.
It's not about Mr. Trump. This is about America."
Trump praised Carson throughout his press conference.
"Having
(Carson's) support, really, it just adds total credence to what I'm
trying to do and to what we're all trying to do," Trump said,
introducing Carson.
Trump says establishment is coming around
Coming off of an unusually civil CNN Republican debate on
Thursday night that lacked in personal insults and attacks, Trump
exuded confidence about the trajectory of his campaign. Fielding
questions from reporters for about 45 minutes, Trump said he is hopeful
about clinching the nomination by getting 1,237 delegates and avoid a
situation in which the nominee is chosen at the Republican convention
over the summer. Looking ahead to next week, he predicted that he could
defeat Ohio Gov. John Kasich in his home state.
Trump
suggested that establishment Republicans are beginning to rally around
him in private conversations. He once again said he had a respectful
conversation with House Speaker Paul Ryan this week, and though he
declined to name names, he said he had heard from "virtually everybody
in the Republican Party."
One person he
has not had contact with: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Asked
to react to reports that McConnell is planning ways for vulnerable
Senate Republicans to distance themselves from Trump should be become
the nominee, Trump simply answered: "I'm sure that will change."
Anti-Trump strategy looks toward convention
Rubio adviser to Ohio voters: Anyone but Trump 00:45
Florida
Sen. Marco Rubio's communications director seemed to acknowledge that
Trump has the best shot at getting the needed delegates to secure the
nomination when he said Friday, that Kasich is the best candidate for
Republicans who want to defeat Donald Trump in the governor's home state
of Ohio.
"If you are a Republican
primary voter in Ohio and you want to defeat Donald Trump, your best
chance in Ohio is John Kasich," Alex Conant told CNN's "At This Hour
with Berman and Bolduan," adding Rubio was the best candidate to debate
Trump in Florida.
When asked
specifically if he was telling Rubio supporters in Ohio to vote for
Kasich, Conant responded, "Yeah, my answer is John Kasich is the one
candidate in Ohio that can beat Donald Trump. That's stating the
obvious. So ... if you're a Republican primary voter in Ohio, and you
don't want Donald Trump to be the nominee, John Kasich is your best
bet."
Mitt
Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee, has encouraged Republicans to
support whoever has the best shot at beating Trump in any particular
state so that Republicans could select their nominee at the Republican
National Convention in July.
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