Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 192
November Surprises
Ben Carson plans to endorse Donald Trump Friday morning, the New York Times reports.
Said Carson: “There’s the Donald Trump that you see on television and who gets out in front of big audiences, and there’s the Donald Trump behind the scenes. They’re not the same person. One’s very much an entertainer, and one is actually a thinking individual.”
“Ben Carson ran for president, and his consultants won,” the AP reports.
“The political newcomer who said this week he sees “no path” to the Republican nomination raised more money than any other GOP contender, $58 million since he began his bid last May. But Carson’s campaign burned through much more of that money on fundraising and consultants than on mass media advertising, on-the-ground employees and other things that could have swayed voters.”
Ben Carson said that “he does not see a path forward for his campaign and that he will not attend the Republican presidential debate on Thursday night, signalling an end to his candidacy after paltry performances in the nominating contests,” the New York Times reports.
Said Carson: “I do not see a political path forward in light of last evening’s Super Tuesday primary results.”
He said he would reveal more details about his political future in a Friday speech.
Ben Carson “doesn’t plan to drop out after Super Tuesday, but his campaign has no idea how it can win the Republican nomination,” Politico reports.
Said Carson campaign chairman Bob Dees: “Well, we clearly don’t know. But we think the opportunity exists for people to wake up and that’s what we’re hoping.”
Ben Carson told Morning Joe that he’s been asked by some people to drop out of the presidential race, but his social media fans are “begging” him not to get out.
Said Carson: “They’re continuing to support us tremendously economically. So there is really no reason to disregard what they have to say.”
Ben Carson jokingly wondered if former aides intentionally undermined his campaign by bleeding it of money, CNN reports.
Said Carson: “We had people who didn’t really seem to understand finances — or maybe they did — maybe they were doing it on purpose.”
Ben Carson told CNN he would use “medical ways” to put terrorists in a “less-than-conscious state” if he became president.
Said Carson: “I believe there are a number of ways to extract information. An average person might understand it as ‘truth serum’ — there are ways where you decrease a person’s conscious defenses, and they might be much more willing to give up information.”
First Read: “With the GOP contest now a three-man race, that doesn’t mean you should ignore the other two Republicans still running — John Kasich and Ben Carson. If Kasich is able to have enough money to survive two or three more weeks of campaigning, he could be a player in Michigan (March 8) and his home state of Ohio (March 15), which would hurt Rubio in those two states. And even though he finished sixth in South Carolina, Carson still captured 7% of the vote, which could potentially be going to someone else (Cruz? Trump?).”
Wonk Wire: Who gets Jeb’s votes?
Daily Beast: “The meeting, called by Ted Cruz in an attempt to mend fences with Ben Carson ahead of the South Carolina primary, was held on Thursday night before the Conservative Review convention. The two huddled in the unusual venue for nearly 20 to 25 minutes, as Carson’s Secret Service detail stood outside, according to a Republican operative who witnessed the strange scene.”
“Carson, whose campaign has spent the weeks after Iowa blasting Cruz for lying to voters in the Hawkeye State, agreed to meet him for five minutes, according to a source close to Carson’s campaign, to try to put to bed the issue of his dirty campaign tricks in Iowa, during which Cruz’s campaign told caucus-goers that Carson had dropped out of the race.”
“Joseph Stalin said, If you want to bring America down, you have to undermine three things: Our spiritual life, our patriotism, and our morality.”
— Ben Carson, quoted by CNN during last night’s GOP debate, using a fake quote.
Ben Carson “has raised about $2 million since the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, a startling windfall for a campaign that finished a distant-fourth in Iowa and dead last among eight active contenders in New Hampshire,” Politico reports.
“The haul is all the more startling because the campaign has been floundering for months… But a funny thing happened on the way to the Iowa caucus: Just as the vote was beginning, operatives and surrogates for Ted Cruz rapidly spread a false rumor that Carson would be leaving the Republican contest… The backlash from Carson loyalists was fierce, and the doctor’s campaign says it’s at the core of its sudden fundraising resurgence.”
Ben Carson told Morning Joe that Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign tactics in Iowa were “despicable” and “devastating.”
Said Carson: “Our internal polling and some external polling showed us doing significantly better than we did. But you know, it’s water under the bridge. It’s not that many delegates. It’s a long race. You know, it’s a nine-inning game. We don’t call it after the second inning. We’re going to do just fine.”
Ben Carson told CNN that his backers aren’t going to let him quit the presidential race.
Said Carson: “I’m getting a lot of pressure to make sure I stay in the race. They’re reminding me that I’m here because I responded to their imploring me to get involved. And I respect that and I’m not just going to walk away from the millions of people who are supporting me.”
Ben Carson isn’t ruling out being Donald Trump’s running mate, Politico reports.
Said Carson: “I certainly would sit down and discuss it with him.”
“As Iowa Republicans headed to the caucuses on Monday night, Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign left recorded messages for supporters with ‘breaking news’ that Ben Carson would drop out of the race, and told them to “inform any Carson caucus-goers of this news and urge them to caucus for Ted instead,'” the New York Times reports.
Ben Carson will cut more than 50 campaign staff positions as part of an overhaul and downsizing of his campaign, the Washington Post reports.
“Salaries are being significantly reduced. Carson’s traveling entourage will shrink to only a handful of advisers. And instead of flying on private jets, Carson may soon return to commercial flights.”
Ben Carson accused Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign of telling voters at Iowa precincts that Carson had dropped out of the race, TPM reports.
Said Carson: “At many of the precincts, the information was disseminated that I was suspending my campaign, that I had dropped out. And anybody who was planning to vote for me was wasting their vote and therefore they should reconsider.”
“Ben Carson said his top outside adviser and longtime friend Armstrong Williams is dishonest – a failing he also attributed to political opponents and the media that has covered his campaign,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Carson: “Armstrong is not necessarily the epitome of truth. He doesn’t speak all things that are correct. He often speaks without thinking. He has no official capacity in the campaign whatsoever. His influence has been vastly overrated.”
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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