The only person Ben Carson has expressed interest in being the Republican vice presidential nominee is Donald J. Trump, whose opinion matters most.
Carson, a former neurosurgeon and housing secretary in the Trump administration, is being considered as one of “a number of people who would do a really great job,” Trump told local reporters in New York last month.
Last week, Trump reiterated his interest in working with Carson on Newsmax, saying he was one of “a lot of fine people.”
And Trump has spoken fondly of Carson privately, reflecting an odd political friendship between the pugnacious Republican leader and the quiet physician who ran against Trump in 2016.
Those personal connections, developed over the years, are why Carson remains a leading contender to be Trump’s running mate, even as there are signs the race is narrowing to a handful of front-runners, including Doug Burgum, Marco Rubio and J.D. Vance.
Few close to the former president say Carson is unlikely to be selected, but Trump’s unconventional approach and history of last-minute decisions mean a surprise is possible — and among a wide range of unlikely candidates who say he might do the job, Carson is probably the favorite.
Meanwhile, Carson said in an interview with CNN last month that if he were asked to join the ranks, he would “prayerfully consider it.”
“Mr. Trump has an incredible ability to speak directly to people’s hearts without filter or political correctness,” Carson said.
Still, their relationship has been complicated at times. During Trump’s criminal trial in New York, former White House counsel Hope Hicks testified that Trump thanked the National Enquirer’s publisher for a 2015 story that alleged Carson had left sponges in patients’ brains. “This deserves a Pulitzer Prize,” Hicks said she remembered Trump saying.
“My advice to Dr. Carson would be not to be his running mate,” Armstrong Williams, a friend of Mr. Carson’s who served as an informal adviser to his 2016 campaign, said in an interview, suggesting the job of a running mate could be demanding. “But if he knows his friend is going to have a difficult road ahead of him, he’ll do whatever he can to make that road and that process easier for his friend.”
In a statement, Carson said he and Williams had known each other for many years, but that Williams was “not my spokesperson or advisor on any political matters.”
To Trump’s inner circle, the accusations against Carson are rather clear-cut.
He turns 73 in September, which is not a good thing in a year when voters are concerned about the advanced age of both major presidential candidates.
Carson is also a Florida native, and both Trump and Carson live in Palm Beach County, where Trump is concerned about a constitutional provision that could cripple two candidates from the same state running for president. (Williams said Carson also spends a lot of time in Virginia.)
Carson’s first term in public office was as secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Trump administration, a role in which he was often embroiled in scandal.
His turbulent tenure, combined with his penchant for highly eccentric rhetoric, seems to undermine Trump’s current preferred image of a disciplined campaigner with few unnecessary distractions to his troubled campaign. (Carson has equated Obamacare with slavery and suggested that sexual orientation is a choice, citing criminals who “go into prison straight and get out gay.”)
But three people familiar with the process said Trump is intrigued by the idea of adding a black man to his presidential candidacy as a way to boost his support among black male voters, and is also considering adding Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only black Republican in the House of Representatives, and Rep. Byron Donald, the only black Republican in Florida’s congressional delegation.
Trump has said he plans to announce his nominee before or during the Republican National Convention in mid-July, giving him more than a month to decide on a nominee and potentially making an unconventional choice.
Moreover, he appears to genuinely like Carson, and people close to both men say their friendship is as enigmatic as it is real.
For Carson, his friendship with Trump began with a few extremely awkward minutes on television at a 2016 Republican primary debate when he was introduced to the audience but instead of going to the podium, he stopped and waited just outside the stage, Trump following Carson’s example and standing still as the other candidates scurried past them both.
Williams said Carson viewed Trump’s decision to cancel as a friendship rather than a mutual embarrassment.
Carson, who has worked on Trump’s campaign during this election, has recently been giving a series of high-profile television interviews to promote his new book, “The Perilous Fight,” which was released last month and presents his views on incorporating biblical family faith into American culture.
Trump spoke fondly about the awkward moment with Carson.
Speaking at a Black Conservative League banquet in South Carolina in February, Trump recalled that he was “a little worried” about Carson’s rising approval ratings during the 2016 campaign. But Trump said Carson put him at ease, recalling his rival telling him before another primary debate, “Don’t worry. God put you in this position. You’re going to win.”
“I was so prepared to go on the debate stage and he was doing so well and then he made that comment and it just baffled me,” Trump said in South Carolina, adding, “He was a great friend of mine.”
Taylor Robinson He contributed reporting from New York.
