Former Top Carson Aide Now Advising Trump's Campaign

When Barry Bennett resigned as Ben Carson’s campaign manager in December, he told TIME 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 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.”

Get our Politics Newsletter. The headlines out of Washington never seem to slow. Subscribe to The D.C. Brief to make sense of what matters most.

Please enter a valid email address.

* The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again.

Sign Up Now

An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later.

Check here if you would like to receive subscription offers and other promotions via email from TIME group companies.

You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Thank you!

For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.

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

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.”

Write to Tessa Berenson at tessa.berenson@time.com.