Putting forth another candidate besides Donald Trump or Sen. Ted Cruz at a contested convention would cause “major problems” for Republicans, Ben Carson said Monday.
When asked on “Morning Joe” what would happen if no candidate would reach the 1,237 delegate count threshold ahead of the Republican National Convention in July and someone else joins the race, Carson shot down the idea that any candidate who is not currently in the race would be viable.
“I would not be enthusiastic about whoever it was, if it wasn’t one of the people who spent all this time, all this effort, all this resource in order to get there and then we toss them out,” Carson said. “Because basically what that’s saying is the people don’t mean anything, and that the process is more important than the people, and I don’t think that’s true.”
Ultimately, the nominee would have to be Trump or Cruz, not even ex-candidates Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio or Carson himself, or else there would be “major problems brewing” for the GOP, he said.
“You’re going to create so much friction, and of course that would be a wonderful thing for the Democrats, there’s no question about it. They would absolutely love that, be dancing in the streets,” Carson said. “But it would be a disaster for the Republicans.”
Trump and Cruz are currently separated by about 300 delegates, putting them both far ahead of Ohio Gov. John Kasich. But if Cruz wins Tuesday’s Republican primary in Wisconsin, it becomes that much harder for either candidate to clinch the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination.
Carson asserted that Trump is the best candidate to “solve the problems that are facing the nation right now.”
The former candidate himself also downplayed the idea that he is not completely sold on Trump in light of recent comments hinting that he thinks there could be better candidates.
“[O]f the people who are running, I believe that he is the best one to be able to resolve the issues,” he said. “Now if we end up with a contested convention and things work out in a different way and it seems fair, then of course you’re gonna support whoever the nominee is. But again, things must be open, they must be fair and they must be apparent.”
Gabby Morrongiello contributed to the story.
