Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday dismissed his past attacks on Dr. Ben Carson just hours before the former candidate was set to endorse the GOP front-runner, and particularly downplayed his prior comment that Carson is a “pathological liar.”
Appearing on “Fox and Friends,” Trump told the trio of hosts that his past comments about Carson were just “part of the game.” Trump confirmed the endorsement from Carson during Thursday’s debate, who dropped his bid for the White House last Friday.
“Well, it was part of the game, and all I was doing is trying to say exactly what he said, because he talked about his growing up, which was tough,” Trump said. “All I did was read parts of what he said, and then I hoped, but it all worked out.”
During Carson’s surge in the fall, which saw him tie or overtake Trump for a short time, the GOP front-runner repeatedly attacked Carson’s “pathology” to that of a child molester. He also took aim at Carson’s life story by referring to anecdotes in which Carson attacked his mother with a hammer and tried to stab a friend in the abdomen before a belt buckle blocked the knife.
Carson is set to endorse Trump during a Friday morning press conference in Palm Beach, Fla.
