Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson told
Newsmax TV on Thursday that he was staying in the race "until I win" and ruled out a vice presidential spot because "I'm not looking for a job."
"You assess things on a regular basis," the retired pediatric neurosurgeon told "Newsmax Now" hosts John Bachman and Miranda Khan. "I have an enormous amount of support and a lot of people saying, 'please don't drop it' — so I'm not even thinking about doing that."
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Carson said his resolve to remain on the campaign trail is especially critical "given the fact that many people have sacrificed in order to donate.
"I don't accept donations from billionaires who want to influence things and special interest groups. It's just 'we the people' and 'we the people' deserve to have a voice not to be manipulated by the media."
He dismissed the idea of being a No. 2 candidate because his running mate "would have to be somebody I was philosophically aligned with — and I'd have to have some very specific things that I was supposed to do.
"The likelihood of that occurring is very, very remote," Carson said. "I'm not looking for a job."
In other comments in his exclusive Newsmax interview, Carson said that:
- He will improve his poll numbers by speaking directly to voters. "When people have an opportunity to actually see me and to hear me, then they realize that the portrayals from the media are completely false — and the more times I have an opportunity to make that case, the better."
- The political process has taught him that "people will do virtually anything to accomplish their ambition. That's not something that I identify with because I would never do that. But it's the environment that we're in."
- He is the best choice for the White House because "we need people who know how to think out of the box and who know how to accomplish things, not people who know how to talk."