Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Donald Trump and Ben Carson Hold a News Conference. Aired 9:30- 10a ET

Aired March 11, 2016 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[09:30:00] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If anything, the party would take money. I'm not going to take any money. I don't want money. But the party might take money. It's up to the party. That's really up to them. It's not up to me.

And it's something I haven't given much thought to. You know, I've self-funded my campaign. I put in -- I guess I'll be in for $50 million, $60 million at a minimum. Right now, you know, I am somebody that's a business person and even when I don't -- the money is sort of irrelevant, but I have a natural instinct to be a little bit careful with money because that's the way I am. That's the way we have to be with our country.

I expect to have, you know, tremendous amounts of money in this by the time we finish. I guess right now I'm into, you would know better than me, maybe $30 million, maybe more. But other people are in for $150 million and they're nowhere. They're out of the race.

So I'm very proud of the race we've run. You know we've -- somebody said, you know, he's only been doing this for eight months, but I know the system better than anybody. And the reason I know -- because I was on the other side of the system. So when they talk about campaign finance laws, when they talk about all of these different things, I've been there. I know it much better. And I know it from the real side, not from the politician's side.

Yes.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Mr. Trump, I just want to go back --

TRUMP: You did well last night, by the way.

BASH: Thank you, sir.

I want to go back to the -- what Major asked and also what Tom asked about what Dr. Carson said this morning on the radio and here about the two Donald Trumps. So many people know you and like you because of your public persona. Is that the real Donald Trump or is it something that we don't see?

TRUMP: Well, it's a -- it's an interesting question. I don't like to over analyze myself. But -- but I will tell you that I try and be, you know, who I am. I want to be honest. Certain questions are asked of me and I give a straight answer as opposed to a politically correct answer. I know the politically correct business better than anybody.

BASH: Would you answer differently if you were in private?

TRUMP: No, I don't think so. I'd like to -- I answer truthfully. Look, we're at a point we have to start being truthful with our country. Like the question on Islam, I'm answering the question and I could -- I know the exact answer. I could have given an answer the other night to Anderson Cooper which would have been perfect and nobody would have been talking about it. It would have been fine. But there is a problem. And we've got to find out what the problem is. We have to solve the problem. And you're not going to solve the problem unless you know there is a problem.

So I want to answer questions honestly and forthrightly. And even if I'm on a big stage with all of these tremendous numbers of cameras around, I have to answer honestly. It's the only way we're going to solve the difficulties of our country.

Yes, go ahead.

REPORTER: Mr. Trump, just along the same lines, so why are there two Donald Trumps? Did you at some point make a conscious decision to behave differently in public for --

TRUMP: I don't think there are two Donald Trumps. I think there's one Donald Trump, but certainly you have, you know, look, all of this and you have somebody else that sits and reads and thinks. And I'm a thinker. And I have been a thinker. And perhaps people don't think of me that way because you don't see me in that forum. But I am a thinker. I thought it was very nice what Ben said, actually, because it is another side of me. I -- I'm a very deep thinker. I know what's happening.

OK.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) Dr. Carson said that we'd start seeing more of that side of you. Can you elaborate a little bit on that?

TRUMP: Well, I'm going to work with Ben on so many different things. And I'll be honest, when I was with Ben yesterday, the thing that most impressed me, I know all about his views on health care because I've heard them and I've always felt that he knew more about it than the other people on the stage, and perhaps he should, because that was what he was doing. But I was most impressed with his views on education. It's a strength. And it's a tremendous strength. And so Ben's going to be involved with us in any aspect he wants to be, but in particular on those two subjects.

OK.

Yes. Go ahead.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) more about the -- this toned down version, what we saw last night, what Dr. Carson referred to as your cerebral side. Do you plan to tone down your performances as -- as a candidate? TRUMP: It depends. You know, you can't say -- I didn't go there as a

toned down person. I went and whatever happens, happens. You have to be able to be -- to swing with the punches. And, you know, to be honest with you, I went there, I didn't know if I was going to be -- if I was hit, I would have hit back.

Now, there are those people that said to me, I was telling Ben yesterday, there were those people that said, it doesn't matter, let them call you names, let them do whatever they want. Stand there and take it. You're leading. You've got a substantial lead. Nobody's going to beat you. Don't do anything. And I said, I can't do that. When somebody hits, I have to hit back.

So I thought they were very respectful yesterday. I thought, frankly, everybody did well. I thought it was a, you know, I used the expression, I thought it was a very elegant debate last night.

Yes, go ahead.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) Mr. Trump, two quick things. You said earlier that you felt we've had enough debates. There is potentially another debate scheduled on March 21st. Is your suggestion to the RNC at this point, guys, we've had enough --

TRUMP: I think we've had enough debates. I think -- I mean how many times do you have to give the same answer to the same question? Do you agree with that, Ben? I mean same question, same people, same everything.

[09:35:00] I think, you know, it would be nice to finish off with this one. I thought CNN did a fantastic job last night. I thought that Jake was a great moderator. It was just -- it was just a really nice way to finish off the debate season.

But I thought -- I really think it's enough debates. I don't think there's any reason for the debates. I know they're getting very big ratings. And, by the way, the Democrats are not getting ratings at all and our debates are getting very, very big ratings. But, you know, one of those things. I think we had enough.

The network -- look, the networks want them. I don't think any of the candidates want them at this point. The networks very much want them.

REPORTER: Can you talk about also, there's a phrase you've been using the last several days on the trails in interview. You said "embrace it" to the Republican Party. I know you were asked a little bit -- about that earlier.

TRUMP: Yes.

REPORTER: As you move forward now and as the contests start to limit, what are you going to do? Are you going to find yourself surrounding yourselves with more people who are endorsing you, speaking on your behalf?

TRUMP: Well, when I said embrace, I was saying that the Republican Party should come together and embrace these millions of people that are going down and voting. Millions. You know, South Carolina, New Hampshire. No matter where it is, it's the millions and millions of people. We've had -- I was going to bring down a list and I said I didn't want to bore you people, but we've had some states that are up 102 percent from four years ago. One hundred and two percent. There's something happening that's really beautiful to see. And these are people in many cases, as I said last night, these are people that have never voted. Ben, I have people coming up, they said, Mr. -- and I'm talking about 40, 50, 60, 70 years old. So many people. They say, Mr. Trump, I've never voted before and they've got a Trump shirt on. I mean they never put a political shirt on in their lives. They weren't political people. They never had confidence in the people that they were voting for. They said, I've never -- I have had so -- I mean, literally, when I shake hands with people or when I sign autographs, people are saying, I've never voted before, Mr. Trump, but I am so proud to be voting. And some people go early voting. It's been an amazing thing.

And what I said to the Republican Party, the establishment, if there is such a thing. I guess I used to be a member of the establishment eight months ago. But if there is such a thing -- I'm not sure that there is -- but I said, embrace it. Instead of fighting it. Instead of fighting me like this -- you know, these people from Club for Growth. They're -- these are people that came to my office. They asked me for $1 million. I said, who are they? I don't even know who they are. They asked me for $1 million. And I said, well, let me think about it. Then I found out who they are and I said, I'm not going to wasting $1 million. Why would I give them a $1 million? And as soon as I said that, they started doing negative ads. They went negative on me.

If I would have given them $1 million, they wouldn't be doing negative ads. They're extortionists. They're extortionists. That's all they are. And I look on television, I see negative ads, which are all wrong. They ads are lies, by the way. But -- but, you know, so that's what you have.

We should embrace it. The Republican Party should grab this. And we will have a victory like the Republican Party has never had before.

One of the things Ben and I were talking about, I will win Michigan. That's not in the playbook for the Republican Party. I think I have a chance to win New York. That's not in the playbook. Can you imagine if you win New York?

You know, they always talk about the six states you have to win, the Florida, Virginia, you know, just go down the line, Pennsylvania, Ohio. You have to win certain states. If you lose one of them, it's over for the Republican Party. The fact is, the structure -- structurally it's much more difficult for somebody to get elected from the Republican Party. Everybody knows that. With me, I add a lot of states that aren't even in play for anybody else. I mean I add all of the rustbelt states. I own states -- I own states that -- I will get states that are unbelievable, that are unthinkable for the Republican Party. And we should embrace it.

All right. A couple more and we'll (INAUDIBLE). REPORTER: Mr. Trump, you said Dr. Carson over there would be handling education for you. Here in Florida, a lot of people are angry about Common Core. It just came in a few years ago.

TRUMP: Right.

REPORTER: But it's up to the states to handle that. So how would Dr. Carson do something about the issue that a lot of people have with Common Core?

TRUMP: Well, Ben knows the education. He knows what's going on. And I'm personally very much opposed to Common Core. I like local education. Ben feels very much the same way. And I think Ben is going to do a tremendous service for helping the states, because, you know, we want to see it.

There's great love in education. And when you circle those schools with the parents and the teachers and everything else, instead of some bureaucrat in Washington, you're going to do a lot better.

OK.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) have you had any conversations with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell?

TRUMP: I have not yet. I'm sure I will, but I have not. I have not yet.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE). What is your reaction to the news that Mitch McConnell has been advising vulnerable Senate Republicans on, you know, running away from you, if you were the nominee?

TRUMP: I'm sure that will change.

Yes.

REPORTER: Mr. Trump, do you think that the Republican Party leadership, those that are in Washington right now are disconnected from the Republican base, the electorate? Is that who you're seeing as maybe potentially dividing, uniting the electorate against party leadership --

[09:40:00] TRUMP: It's true, there's a big disconnection between the so-called leadership. I don't even know what the leadership is. I can't define the leadership because nobody knows what it is. But there's a big disconnect between the so-called leadership and the people. But the people to me are much more important because they're the ones doing the voting. That's why I'm standing up here today and other people aren't.

REPORTER: Why do you think there is disconnect? What are they not understanding about their -- about their --

TRUMP: The Republican Party lost its way. They've lost two elections that they should have won. Certainly the last election they absolutely should have won easily. That should have been an easy victory. In my opinion, much easier than the one we have coming up, and they lost.

So the Republican Party lost its way. The Republican Party now, something has happened. Call it a miracle. Call it whatever you want to do, but they're talking about it all over the world. It's the biggest story in all of politics, one of the big stories of the world. The millions and millions of people that are pouring into the Republican Party, not to the Democrats, to the Republican Party. And these are people that were disenfranchised. These are people that haven't had a pay increase in 20 years. These are people that have seen their jobs go to China and to Mexico and to Japan and to Vietnam and to every other country in the world but us. It's going to all end. It's going to end.

REPORTER: What are you going to say --

TRUMP: Believe me, it's going to end.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) Democratic voters. If you get to the general election, Democrats, what are you going to say to them?

TRUMP: Well, one of the things we're going to do --

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) --

TRUMP: Yes, let me tell you about the Democratic voters, as you say. It's actually the Democrat voters. And I will tell you, one of the things we're going to do is, we are going to get so many Democrats -- it's already been proven, so many Democrats have come and signed registration forms for the primaries where they're voting for me. They laughed. They said they've never done this in their lives.

You know, they had a -- an expression, Democrats for Reagan, years ago. We're going to have Democrats for Trump, but it's going to be much bigger. We're going to get tremendous numbers of Democrats. I have people in Hollywood, friends of mine, saying, you know, everybody out there is voting for you, but they're not going to admit. I say, why, aren't you proud? No, because I have a tough stance on crime, I have a tough stance on borders. They all know I'm right. But they're liberal people. They don't want to admit it. But, you know what, they're going to vote for Trump.

REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) recently acknowledged that this would come down to the convention? If this does come down to a convention fight, what are you -- what's your campaign doing? What are you doing to prepare?

TRUMP: Well, I think we'll do it without a convention. I hope we're going to do it without going down into the convention without having a fight. But I do feel, and I said it strongly, whoever has the most delegates at the end of this trip should win.

REPORTER: What are you doing to prepare for the possibility --

TRUMP: Well, I'll prepare, but I'm -- I'm hoping to prepare. We're going to have a -- I think, look, Ohio is -- should be great for me because they're losing tremendous numbers of jobs. You've seen what's happened with the coal industry in Ohio. REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE).

TRUMP: I think I'll beat John Kasich, yes. I mean John Kasich has been an absentee governor. He's been an absentee -- he's been campaigning for the last -- he lived in New Hampshire. In fact, Chris Christie said that absolutely John Kasich was there much more than him, which is true. And John Kasich then went, as you know, to other states, to different states. Very big in South Carolina. He was there. He didn't win. Didn't win in New Hampshire, right? Didn't win in Michigan.

He guaranteed Michigan. He said, I will win Michigan. And I thought he said, you could correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought he said, if I don't win Michigan, I drop out, because Michigan's his neighboring state. And I won Michigan in a landslide. And he's -- he was living there.

So John has been, you know, not really there. And John's got some innate problems. He's very much in favor of Trans-Pacific Partnership, TPP. That will be the destruction of Ohio. And now that the oil is down, you know, Ohio got lucky because they struck oil. And the budget of Ohio went up more than any budget in the entire United States. Higher than any budget. But they got lucky because oil was under their ground as opposed to some states where they don't have the oil.

Now that the prices of oil are down, Ohio's going to have a lot of problems.

REPORTER: Mr. Trump --

REPORTER: Mr. Trump --

TRUMP: OK, maybe one more or two more. Go ahead.

REPORTER: Just to be clear, you're not going to be in Salt Lake City on March 21st for this next debate?

TRUMP: I didn't know there was a next debate. I thought we had our next debate last night. No? They have yet another --

REPORTER: They have (INAUDIBLE) --

TRUMP: Look, there's been a ratings bonanza and I would -- I would do debates, frankly, if the networks agreed to give all of the money to the -- let's say to the Wounded Warriors or to the veterans. But the networks are making a fortune on these debates. The ratings for the debates are through the roof.

But you know what, can I be honest with you, I think it's time to end the debates. No, I didn't know about a debate in Salt Lake City.

Yeas.

REPORTER: Mr. Trump, (INAUDIBLE) just to clarify, you said that you've been hearing mostly from Republicans, like Paul Ryan.

TRUMP: Yes. REPORTER: But have you personally reached out to anybody in the Republican Party? And do you think that's something that you --

TRUMP: Well, I'd rather not say, but I've been hearing from virtually everybody in the Republican Party and they're congratulating me and they're saying, we're going to get together.

REPORTER: Do you think that's --

TRUMP: They want to embrace it. Look, they're not -- these are not stupid people. These are very smart people. They want to embrace it. What are they going to do?

[09:45:00] Take millions of these voters -- do you know that if you look at the polls, and people are telling me this every time. When I went to Nevada, which we won, and I went to -- you know, all of them. Every -- the people that work in the polling areas, they've been there 20, 25 years, they love it, you know, they do it. They're political people. Every single time I go, they say, Mr. Trump, we've never seen anything like this. You go to Nevada, they'd say we'd stand here and the place would be empty all morning long, and now you'd have lines that are five blocks long. It's really been an amazing thing.

Yes, ma'am, go ahead. Absolutely.

REPORTER: So last night on the debate stage, you said that trade is one of the areas on which you diverge from the Republican Party.

TRUMP: Right, very much so.

REPORTER: It was discussed a lot in the context of Ohio. So how would you say you differ on trade from Hillary Clinton?

TRUMP: Well, Hillary's terrible on trade. First of all, she has no business instincts. She doesn't have the energy or the strength to get the right deals made. Let me tell you, you need strength, you need stamina, you need a lot to get these deals done. They come at you in waves. And to do these deals where they wrap them up and they put 12 countries in one, TPP as an example, I want individual trade deals with individual countries. Some deals we'll make that will be so good. Some countries treat us better than others. Some are worse. China will take advantage of TPP. It's not in it now, but believe me, they will come through the back door. They're watching it so closely.

I have so many friends in China. I have great respect for China. I'm not angry at China. No we're going to change our trade deals, we're going to make great deals. We're going to become a rich nation again. We cannot become a great nation until we become rich again. You know, we can't afford Social Security, we can't afford anything. I'm going to save Social Security. There are so many things we can do, it's going to go quickly, too.

OK, yes?

REPORTER: Let me ask a quick question to Dr. Carson about your decision to endorse Mr. Trump over Senator Cruz. You did indicate earlier in the week that you were open to endorsing one of the two. So why not Senator Cruz?

CARSON: Well, first of all, we had a lot of excellent candidates. I think any of the 17 candidates who were running could have done a fine job. But one of the real factors for me is what will happen if we allow the political operatives to succeed in their endeavor to stop Donald Trump? I think it would fracture the party irreparably and it would hand the election to the Democrats, and they would get two to four Supreme Court picks and America would be forever changed. And that's the big picture. It's a very big picture. It's not about me; it's not about Mr. Trump. It's about America.

REPORTER: So why not Senator Cruz, ultimately?

CARSON: Because I feel that Mr. Trump is willing to do what needs to be done to break the stranglehold of special interest groups and the political class.

REPORTER: Are there any remaining hard feelings towards Senator Cruz over what happened in Iowa?

CARSON: I've completely forgiven him. That's a duty one has as a Christian.

(CROSSTALK)

REPORTER: Dr. Carson -- Dr. Carson, you said throughout your life God has led you to your most important decisions. This truly is an important decision. Did God lead you to Donald Trump?

CARSON: I prayed about it a lot and I got a lot of indications, people calling me that I haven't talked to for a long time saying, I had this dream about you and Donald Trump. Just an amazing thing.

But, you know, I also tend to think that the way God speaks to you is by giving you wisdom, and that wisdom says to me that if we allow this attempt to disrupt the will of the people to be successful, it will fracture the party in an irreparable way and that will hand the election to people who I personally believe would destroy our country.

And the reason I say that is because, you know, Hillary Clinton was a great friend of Saul Alinsky. She was on a first-name basis with him when she was a student. Saul Alinsky wrote the book, "Rules for Radicals," and if you haven't read it, I recommend that you read it and see the kinds of things that are recommended to change, fundamentally change, this nation from the great success that we have to a socialist country. And the dedication page of that book says "Dedicated to Lucifer, the original radical who gained his own kingdom." I don't want anything to do with anything like that.

BASH: Dr. Carson, you talked about burying the hatchet. Did you have any kind of conversation with Mr. Trump like that with Senator Ted Cruz? And did he ask you for your endorsement?

[09:50:04] CARSON: He did not specifically ask for an endorsement, but he did apologize, he said -- he wasn't really aware of what was going on. He didn't agree with it. REPORTER: Why Mr. Trump over Ted Cruz?

REPORTER: Dr. Carson, you said just a week ago today at CPAC that you were endorsing "We the people." It sounds as if, in that intervening time between then and now, you've involved and the central focus of what I hear you saying is the effort to stop Donald Trump is what motivated you to endorse him. Is it Donald Trump's qualities for the presidency or thismovement against him that put you where you are right now?

CARSON: It's about we the people. We need to empower the people. That is not going to be done through politics as usual, be that Republican politics as usual or be that Democrat politics as usual. It requires somebody who's is bit of an iconoclast, but someone who has the ability to listen and to make wise decisions.

REPORTER: Dr. Carson, do you think that, going back to what Mr. Trump said about the great things (INAUDIBLE), you have a lot of evangelicals that come out to a lot of rallies (INAUDIBLE) and they were there when I was there, do you think that that people will be representative of the American people? And do you think you can help bridge the gap between evangelicals as well as the people of color now that you're endorsing Mr. Trump?

CARSON: Well, I hope that we can bridge the gap with everybody. All the policies I have ever talked about -- and Mr. Trump is going to be on board with this too -- we talk about things that are good for everybody, not for this group or that group. The whole concept of picking and choosing winners and losers is something that I think is antithetical to what we believe, don't you? And, you know, that simply not -- would not happen with a Trump administration.

We would be looking at ways to do things that benefit all Americans, that create an equal playing field. Equality of opportunity, that's what we're looking for. And that doesn't mean that we're not sensitive to people who are downtrodden. In fact, we're very sensitive to people who are downtrodden, and we'll be putting in place things that will allow those people to ascend. Many people have been placed in a position of dependency for generations. They don't even recognize what's going on. We have to change that.

(CROSSTALK)

REPORTER: Dr. Carson, (INAUDIBLE) what are you doing to reverse the situation? We are fighting in the Middle East but they are now in our neighborhood. (INAUDIBLE) -- China or Russia influence in our neighborhood?

CARSON: I'll let Mr. Trump answer that question.

REPORTER: Do you see a future for yourself in politics, and even if there was no promises made as part of this endorsement, would you be interested in serving in a potential Trump administration?

CARSON: Well, I'm interested in saving America. My concern is our posterity, all the people who are coming after us. And we are destroying any possibility of the American Dream for them with the policies that we're doing. So I would be very interested in helping to achieve the goal of saving America and making it great, absolutely.

REPORTER: Dr. Carson, you talk about Mr. Trump --

CARSON: Oh, Kenton (ph), I notice that was you.

REPORTER: Nice to see you. You talk about two Donald Trumps, the one we see in public, the one in private. Does that worry you for the American voters? Should the voters know that second Donald Trump, and then as that relates to you, you and Mr. Trump have sparred on a number of issues, whether it's Muslim database, whether it's religion. Are we seeing a second Dr. Carson with this endorsement?

CARSON: I don't think so. But my point being that there's a different persona. Some people have gotten the impression that Donald Trump is, you know, this person who is not malleable, who does not have the ability to listen and to take information in and to make wise decisions, and that's not true. Now, you might get that impression from, you know, looking at debates and looking at some of the public appearances, but he's much more cerebral than that and a much more reasonable person than comes across.

But as you well know, because you've heard me talk about it a lot, the media, they're very skillful at painting people certain ways. And it may not be who that person is at all. And that person can spend all their time trying to change the media or they can just move ahead.

[09:55:03] And I think he's decided he's just going to move ahead and focus the attention on the American people, not so much on the media. I think that's the right way to do it.

(CROSSTALK)

REPORTER: Will you be hitting the campaign trail with him?

CARSON: We will do some campaigning together. Absolutely.

(CROSSTALK)

CARSON: And the last question?

REPORTER: You said you would be interested in being a part of a potential Donald Trump administration. Have you been promised a running mate spot or a VP slot in exchange for this endorsement?

CARSON: We have not talked specifically about a role other than, you know, being involved and helping formulate policies -- and trying to make America great. That's the real key. And as was said by many, it is great, but the it is nowhere near as great as it can be. And a lot of the things that are in place, and that have been in place and growing over the last few decades, have led us to a place of incredible stagnation. We don't need to be there. And if we, once again, begin to embrace those policies that will create the atmosphere for entrepreneurial risk-taking and capital investment, you will see an explosion like nothing you've ever seen before. We simply haven't been doing that. I don't think it's going to be that hard, and I don't think Mr. Trump thinks it's going to be that hard either.

TRUMP: So, thank you all very much. Thank you very much. Great honor, and go outside. We have coffee and drinks. Enjoy yourselves. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We're going to wrap this up. As you heard Donald Trump say it, and you heard Ben Carson's endorsement coming this way. Big headlines out of this news conference. Perhaps the biggest, Mr. Trump says no more debates. Perhaps the second biggest headline coming out of this, it's a whole new image for Mr. Trump, a much more cerebral one, now as Ben Carson put it. Mr. Trump wants to portray himself as a big thinker. He says there are actually two Donald Trumps, and one Donald Trump we're not so familiar with apparently.

I want to bring back in our analysts, Scottie Nell Hughes, she's a chief political correspondent for USA Radio Networks and a Trump supporter, and Amanda Carpenter, CNN political commentator and Ted Cruz supporter.

Amanda, I will start with you. What do you make of this?

AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I sort of wonder if Dr. Ben Carson is following the curse of other Trump endorsers, namely Sarah Palin and Chris Christie, who are used for a day and then sent off to pasture. Ben Carson standing up and saying there are two Donald Trumps, as if this is a good thing that's going to sell well with voters, is a mistake.

I know Trump can kind of walk it back and say, listen, I am malleable, which I also think is a bad move for him, but saying I can make deals, I can be nice, this is the new Donald Trump. That's a really hard sell. Ben Carson didn't do him any favors with that speech today.

COSTELLO: Well, you know, let's talk about the optics of this for just a second. Because I noticed that Dr. Ben Carson did not stand behind Donald Trump at all while Donald Trump was behind the podium, and Donald Trump didn't even go onto the stage when Dr. Carson was announcing his endorsement. That's in stark contrast to when Sarah Palin offered her endorsement and Chris Christie offered his endorsement.

And I think we have pictures of that and I wish we would put them up right now so the viewers can see the contrast. So there you see Chris Christie stood behind Donald Trump as he spoke. Dr. Carson, it appeared to me anyway, that Dr. Carson completely left the stage so that he would not be in camera range, so he would not stand beside Donald Trump.

Scottie, that had to be on purpose.

SCOTTIE NELL HUGHES, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I don't know if it necessarily had to be on purpose. I think we might be reading too much into it right now. I mean, if you're going to sit there and think that they're actually staging these press conferences now, then you're going to also have to admit --

COSTELLO: Oh, come on!

HUGHES: -- there's a strategy among this campaign from the beginning.

You know, honestly, you just don't know. You're getting -- these people are not politicians. They don't have these things scripted. They don't have everything going along. They're just going with the flow of things. This was a press conference called this morning.

COSTELLO: So was it accident?

HUGHES: Even if it was --

COSTELLO: Scottie, if I just endorsed someone, I'm going to stand behind them to show America that I'm with him all the way. But that didn't happen, at least optically, in this press conference.

HUGHES: Well, I think also the idea is that these people are still individuals. They're not necessarily -- he's adding his support to him; that doesn't mean that he's necessarily going to have to agree 100 percent or not agree.

That's what's so great about this campaign season is that you're seeing folks that go together who maybe before enemies before and working together. And that's what this is.

Now, when you're talking about Dr. Carson today, I think what you cannot sit there after listening to what he said and not know absolutely know he's 100 percent behind Mr. Trump and very happy with that decision, and that both of them are on the same board.

But you have to remember, just a few weeks ago, they were opponents, and Dr. Carson still has this whole idea of getting evangelicals out to there to vote, and hopefully now for Mr. Trump with this endorsement.

COSTELLO: OK, so stick around. I'm going to have to take a break. But we'll talk much more about this big press conference and Dr. Ben Carson's endorsement of Donald Trump.

[10:00:04] And Donald Trump saying there should be no more debates.

I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)