It’s understandably difficult to champion a man who once likened you to a pathological child molester. This is the plight of the polite and mild-mannered Ben Carson, who has appeared downright tepid about his endorsement of Donald Trump.

“Even if Donald Trump turns out not to 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 even if he didn’t, we’re only looking at four years as opposed to multiple generations and perhaps the loss of the American dream forever,” Carson told NewsmaxTV on Monday.