Why Dr. Ben Carson is Supporting Donald Trump for President

Excerpted from Ben Carson’s Endorsement News Conference

This whole process, getting involved in a political process, was something that I never particularly intended to do.  But I listened to the people, and it was really all about the people, and it continues to be all about the people.  It's not about the Republican Party or the Democratic Party.  It's about the people of America.

I want the voice of the people to be heard.  I want to start thinking about what are the things that are going to be helpful for America.  Right now we're in the process of going off the deep end.  We're going off the cliff.  We're fiscally irresponsible.  We're hating each other.  We're destroying ourselves.  A house divided against itself cannot stand.  We're failing to take a leadership position on the world stage.

Now some people have said, "Why would you get behind a man like Donald Trump?"  I'll tell you why.

I've come to know Donald Trump over the last few years.  He is actually a very intelligent man who cares deeply about America.  [He’s] very cerebral, sits there and considers things very carefully. 

Some people have said, "But well, he said terrible things about you.  How can you support him?"  Well, first of all, we buried the hatchet.  We moved on because it's not about me.  It's not about Mr. Trump.  It's about America, and this is what we have to be thinking about.  I have found that in talking with him that there's a lot more alignment philosophically and spiritually than I ever thought that there was.  And, I think that as the American people begin to see the real Donald Trump… we're going to be comforted as a nation. 

We have to start working together.  We cannot allow the agents of division to continue to separate us.  As a nation, our strength is our unity, and we just have to ignore those people who are always trying to stir up strife. 

And, I'm appealing to the media as well.  You're part of America, too, and should be interested in strengthening our nation, not in creating divisions, not in creating conflicts all the time.  If we start having that American attitude, that American spirit that made us great, that took us to the pinnacle in no time at all, everybody will benefit from that.

Donald Trump and I are also talking about how we can make America a place that's successful for everybody.  We have 330 million people.  We're going to be competing with China with 1.4 billion people, and India with 1.1 billion people. 

We have to develop all of our people, including the people who are the downtrodden in our society.  We're not doing those people any favor by patting them on the head and saying, "There, there, you poor little thing.  I'm going to take care of all your needs."

What we need to be doing instead is concentrating on mechanisms that allow people to climb out of a state of dependency and become part of the strength and fabric of this nation.  That's what America is about.  It's not about dependency, and it certainly isn't about socialism. 

Socialism is seen as the panacea by some who don't really understand it.  I think a lot of young people think socialism is just being concerned about other people.  That's not what it is.  It's cradle to grave government.  You let them take care of you, but you give them all of your money.  You give them control of your life.  Socialist countries all end up looking the same way, a small group of elites at the top controlling everything, a rapidly diminishing middle class, and a vastly expanded dependent class.  That is not what made America great.

Donald Trump talks a lot about making America great, but it's not just talk.  He means it.  I'm helping him.  Others are going to be helping him. 

One of the things that I've discovered is that this country has some incredibly smart people.  None of us knows everything.  But, when we begin to use those smart people effectively to accomplish the goals of America, you're going to see us once again ascend to the pinnacle, to a much higher pinnacle than we've ever achieved before, and that's where America should be.

Responses to Questions from the News Media

Q.  Why are you supporting Donald Trump, not one of the other candidates?

A.  First of all, we had a lot of excellent candidates.  I think any of the 17 candidates who were running could have done a fine job.  If she wins, Hillary Clinton will get two to four Supreme Court picks, and America would be forever changed.  That's the big picture.  It's a very big picture.  It's not about me.  It's not about Mr. Trump.  It's about America.

Q:  You said throughout your life God had led you to your most important decisions. This truly is an important decision.  Did God lead you to Donald Trump?

A.   I prayed about it a lot.  And, I got a lot of indications.  But, I also think that the way God speaks to you is by giving you wisdom.  That wisdom says to me that if we disrupt the will of the people, it will… hand the election to people who I personally believe would destroy our country.  The reason I say that is because Hillary Clinton was a great friend of Saul Alinsky.  She was on a first name basis with him when she was a student.  Saul Alinsky wrote the book Rules for Radicals.  You will see the kinds of things that he recommended that would fundamentally change this nation from the great success that we have been into a socialist country.  The dedication page of that book says, "Dedicated to Lucifer, the original radical who gained his own kingdom."  I don't want anything to do with anything like that.

Q:  You said just a week ago that you were endorsing “we the people.”  Is it Donald Trump's qualities for the presidency or this movement against him that put you where you are right now?

A.   It's about “we the people.”  We need to empower the people. That is not going to be done through politics as usual, be that Republican politics as usual or be that Democrat politics as usual.  It requires somebody who has the ability to listen and to make wise decisions.

Q:  Do you think that you could help bridge the gap between evangelicals, as well as the people of color and Donald Trump, now that you're endorsing Mr. Trump?

A.   I hope that we can bridge the gap with everybody.  All the policies that I have ever talked about and Mr. Trump is talking about are good for everybody, not for this group or that group.  We'll be looking at ways to do things that benefit all Americans, [things] that will create an equal playing field.  Equality of opportunity, that's what we're looking for, and that doesn't mean that we're not sensitive to people who are downtrodden.  In fact, we're very sensitive to people who are downtrodden, and [we] will be putting in place things that will allow those people to ascend the ladder of success.  Many people have been placed in a position of dependency for generations.  They don't even recognize what's going on.  We have to change that.

Q:  Dr. Carson, do you see a future for yourself in politics?  Would you be interested in serving in a potential Trump administration?

A.   I'm interested in saving America.  My concern is for posterity, for all the people who are coming after us. We are destroying any possibility of the American dream for them with the policies that we're following.  So, I would be very interested in helping to achieve the goal of saving America and making it great.  Absolutely.

Q:  Will you be campaigning with Mr. Trump?  Will you be hitting the campaign trail with him?

A.   We will do some campaigning together, absolutely. And , the last question.

Q:  You said you would be a part of a potential Donald Trump administration.   Have you been promised a running mate slot of a VP spot in exchange for this endorsement?

A.   We have not talked specifically about a role other than being involved in helping formulate policies and trying to make America great.  That's the real key and as I’ve said many times, America is great, but it is nowhere as great as it can be.  A lot of the things that have been put in place, over the last few decades, have led us to a place of incredible economic stagnation.  We don't need to be there.  If we once again begin to embrace policies that will create the right atmosphere for entrepreneurial risk taking and capital investment, you will see an economic explosion like nothing you've ever seen before.  I don't think it's going to be that hard, and I don't think Mr. Trump thinks it's going to be that hard, either.