Ben Carson on Wednesday predicted Republicans would pay a price if they were to deny Donald Trump the party’s nomination in a contested GOP convention.
“There’s no question that there would be a lot of turmoil if the establishment tries to thwart the will of the people,” Carson told CNN’s Erin Burnett on “OutFront” Wednesday evening.
Carson’s comments came hours after Trump, appearing on CNN’s “New Day,” predicted there would be riots if the Republican Party tried to stop Trump’s march to the nomination. The real estate magnate currently enjoys a sizable delegate lead over Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Burnett asked if it was appropriate for the business mogul to use the word “riot.” Carson said not to look too closely into it.
“I think it’s much ado about nothing. The point is there will be a tremendous disturbance and it would be a typical move for Republicans who have this penchant for snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory.”
The retired neurosurgeon dropped out of the presidential race in early March and endorsed the business mogul last week.
But Carson has been questioned about his endorsement after an interview he gave on Monday, when he told Newsmax TV, “Even if Donald Trump turns out not be such a great president, which I don’t think is the case — I think he’s going to surround himself with really good people. But if he didn’t, we’re only looking at four years.”
Carson told Burnett that he’s not worried about Trump, but about the alternatives who are left in the race.
“Are we going to be a country that was designed of, for and by the people? Or are we going morph into a country that is of, for and by the government? With the government taking control of our lives from cradle to grave and giving them increasingly more authority over our lives?” he said.
He added, “These are the kind of decisions that are going to be made at this election.”
When asked about whether Trump promised Carson a role in his administration, he quickly dismissed the idea.
“First of all, we did not discuss any quid pro quo. There seems to be a great deal of desire by many people to try and make it seem that way. But we did agree that we’re both extremely interested in saving America — particularly for the next generation.”
And Carson said he wasn’t bothered by a Daily Caller report that suggested Trump plagiarized an op-ed previously published under the retired neurosurgeon’s name about American territories and commonwealths.
The story noted multiple similarities between the pieces, including passages where full sentences and phrases of Trump’s piece mirror Carson’s. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.
Carson said: “I would say that many of the people who worked for me previously are now working for Donald Trump, so that doesn’t surprise me at all.”
He added, “Let me put it this way: it doesn’t bother me at all.”
