Many eyebrows were raised when Dr. Ben Carson endorsed Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy on Friday, however it was quickly overshadowed by the weekend of Anti-Trump protests that took took place.
However, on Monday Carson seemed less than enthusiastic about his decision to back the GOP front-runner, telling conservative online site NewsMaxTV that he backed Trump based on a practical calculus with the promise of being adequately compensated in a potential Trump administration.
“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.”
When pressed to clarify, Carson confirmed that he would have preferred ideally to back one of the other candidates. Further into the interview, Carson then went onto say that Trump promised him a role in his administration which was “certainly in an advisory capacity.” When pressed further by NewsMax’s Steve Malzberg whether this meant a cabinet position, Carson said he couldn’t “reveal any details about it right now, because all of this is liquid.”
Federal law prohibits candidates from directly or indirectly promising “the appointment of any person to any public or private position or employment, for the purpose of procuring support in his candidacy.”
The penalty for violations can include up to two years if the violation was willful.
