Ben Carson endorses Trump ahead of Florida GOP primary

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Carson endorses Trump: 'He cares deeply about America'

Says he wants the 'voice of the people to be heard,' scolds media for 'creating divisions'

Saying he has buried the hatchet with his former rival, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson endorsed Republican front-runner Donald Trump at a news conference in Florida Friday morning.

“There’s a lot more alignment philosophically and spiritually…that surprised me more than anything,” Carson said about his relationship with Trump. He added that there are two Trumps “one you see on the stage and the one who is very cerebral, sits there and considers things very carefully.”

“You can have a very good conversation with him, and that’s the Donald Trump that you’re going to see more and more of right now,” he said.

Carson shrugged off remarks he and Trump made toward one other earlier in the primary season.

"That was political stuff. And, you know, that happens in American politics, the politics of personal destruction. All that is not something that I particularly believe in or anything that I get involved in. But I do recognize that it is a part of the process. We move on, because it’s not about me, it’s not about Mr. Trump. It’s about America,” Carson said.

Carson also credited Trump for being “a very intelligent man who cares deeply about America."

Sources close to Carson say he was torn between Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, but picked Trump after Cruz’s camp allegedly circulated a rumor ahead of the Iowa caucuses by the Cruz campaign that Carson had dropped out of the race.

However, Carson said Friday he has “completely forgiven” Cruz.

“That’s the duty one has as a Christian,” Carson said.