--- title: Former Top Ben Carson Aide Advising Donald Trump's Campaign description: "I have a love for Dr. Carson, but I don't think he's going to be our nominee." canonical: https://time.com/4190508/ben-carson-barry-bennett-donald-trump/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-22T17:29:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:43:48.879Z article:section: Politics og:title: Former Top Carson Aide Now Advising Trump's Campaign og:description: "I have a love for Dr. Carson, but I don't think he's going to be our nominee." og:url: https://time.com/4190508/ben-carson-barry-bennett-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12b53d962d608844/69887a31196cf4372f039fb4/ben-carson-donald-trump-barry-bennett-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3448 og:image:height: 1940 og:image:alt: US-VOTE-REPUBLICANS-GOP-DEBATE og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Former Top Carson Aide Now Advising Trump's Campaign twitter:description: "I have a love for Dr. Carson, but I don't think he's going to be our nominee." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12b53d962d608844/69887a31196cf4372f039fb4/ben-carson-donald-trump-barry-bennett-campaign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Former Top Carson Aide Now Advising Trump's Campaign > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=4baa60da-5638-4e42-88de-3d2466b4b777&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 22, 2016 5:29 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidates Ben Carson, left and Donald Trump speak at a Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas in December. Republican presidential candidates Ben Carson, left and Donald Trump speak at a Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas in December. Robyn Beck—AFP/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 22, 2016 5:29 PM UTC When Barry Bennett resigned as Ben Carson’s campaign manager in December, [he told TIME](http://time.com/4165079/ben-carson-campaign-manager-interview/) that his “frustration level was boiling over.” Today he confirmed that he’s now advising Donald Trump’s campaign. The switch was first [reported by the Washington _Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/22/former-carson-campaign-manager-barry-bennett-is-quietly-advising-trumps-top-aides/?postshare=1871453480975142&tid=ss%5Ftw) Friday, after which Bennett spoke with TIME about his decision to offer advice to the Trump campaign.  Former Ben Carson for President campaign manager Barry Bennett has confirmed he is now advising Donald Trump. Cliff Owen—AP “I for weeks now have been saying that I believe he’s going to be the nominee,” he said. “Whoever the nominee is I intend to support 100 percent. … This is more just about trying to help whoever the nominee is.” He said his role is unpaid and unofficial, and to this point merely consists of a trip to New York last week in which he offered advice to Trump’s team. “My entire involvement was here is a list of things that you need to be thinking about as you become the nominee,” Bennett explained. “Your hard work and success gets rewarded with more problems. Here some of them are.” **Read More:** [_Carson’s Former Campaign Manager Speaks About Decision to Leave_](http://time.com/4165079/ben-carson-campaign-manager-interview/) He said he talked to the campaign about “the role of the Republican National Committee, the role of the convention, delegate maintenance, \[and the\] vice presidential selection process.” “That’s more up to them,” Bennett said when asked if he is going to continue advising Trump’s campaign. Bennett said he didn’t tell Carson he was going to advise Trump. “I don’t talk to Dr. Carson daily anymore. I’m sure they’ve read reports,” he said. “I have a love for Dr. Carson, but I don’t think he’s going to be our nominee.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4190508/ben-carson-barry-bennett-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4190508/ben-carson-barry-bennett-donald-trump/"},"headline":"Former Top Carson Aide Now Advising Trump's Campaign","datePublished":"2016-01-22T17:29:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:43:48.879Z","description":"\"I have a love for Dr. Carson, but I don't think he's going to be our nominee.\"","url":"https://time.com/4190508/ben-carson-barry-bennett-donald-trump/","keywords":["2016 Election","Donald Trump","Dr. Benjamin S. 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