Ben Carson Thinks He Has a Shot of Being Donald Trump’s Running Mate

He claims the two discussed a role for him in a Trump administration before he endorsed the front-runner.

Lynne Sladky/AP

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Last week, Ben Carson endorsed Donald Trump, saying, “With our support, I am sure that we can help restore America’s values and faith.” The following day he suggested he would be willing to serve as Trump’s running mate, should the real estate mogul secure the Republican nomination, and he noted that he had told Trump as much. But this was more than just talk. Carson’s camp is taking steps to position Carson as the Republican vice presidential nominee, according to a Carson insider, and Carson believes he stands a good chance of being offered a spot on the ticket.

Before agreeing to endorse Trump on Friday, Carson met privately with the front-runner. In an interview with NewsMax on Monday, Carson said his sit-down with Trump had included discussion of a role for the former neurosurgeon in a Trump administration.

Trump “will surround himself with very good people,” Carson told NewsMax. Asked if he would be one of them, Carson replied, “I will be doing things as well…certainly in an advisory capacity.” Pressed on whether there had been concrete talk about a role for Carson in a Trump administration, Carson replied, “Yeah.”

The Carson insider says Carson left his meeting with Trump believing he was well positioned for the veep slot on a Trump ticket. “He needs me more than I need him,” Carson boasted to his top staff, according to the source, who noted that Carson would likely soon start a push to be Trump’s vice presidential pick. Carson’s campaign spokesman forwarded a request for comment to longtime Carson associate Armstrong Williams, who said he had no comment.

For someone who is apparently enthusiastic about joining a Trump administration, Carson struggled to say much of anything nice about Trump during the rest of the NewsMax interview. Carson brought up his preferences for other candidates and described his decision to back the bombastic tycoon as purely pragmatic.

“I didn’t see a path for Kasich, who I like, or for Rubio, who I like,” Carson explained. “As far as Cruz is concerned, I don’t think he’s going to be able to draw independents and Democrats unless he has some miraculous change.”

“Is there another scenario that I would have preferred? Yes,” Carson said. “But that scenario isn’t available.”

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate