Ben Carson Thursday dismissed a report by Newsmax columnist Armstrong Williams that suggested that the retired pediatric neurosurgeon "must make some difficult choices" on whether to remain in the Republican presidential campaign.
"Everybody has tough decisions to make," Carson told John Berman on CNN. "We make decisions every single day.
"I don't know that you can read a whole lot into that statement," he said.
Williams, a longtime Carson friend and business adviser, said in
his Newsmax column that the candidate's poor showing in last week's South Carolina primary "has given rise to speculation that he must make some difficult choices about whether or not to continue his campaign."
"On the other hand, Carson does face some hard choices," Williams later added. "He has not placed among the top three in any of the primaries thus far, and even though his supporters are asking him to stay in the race, he will have to face the harsh reality sooner rather than later."
When Berman suggested that such a decision could come after next week's Super Tuesday contests, Carson responded, "that's arbitrary.
"It doesn't really matter," he added. "You can talk to 10 people — and they'll say you have to do it here, you have to do it now.
"That's just so irrelevant. What's relevant is what direction you are going in, how much support do you have, and what are you trying to accomplish.
"What I'm trying to accomplish is to save our country," Carson added. "I really think that this is an incredibly serious situation that we're in right now."