Ben Carson hops aboard the Trump train: 'He's actually a very intelligent man'

Retired neurosurgeon and former presidential hopeful Ben Carson is jumping on the Donald Trump train.

Carson threw his support behind the GOP frontrunner during a press conference on Friday morning in Miami.

"Donald Trump talks a lot about making America great, but it's not just talk," said Carson, who dropped out of the presidential race last week. 

"He’s actually a very intelligent person," he added, noting that the Trump the public sees is not always the person he is underneath. "He's much more cerebral than that and a much more reasonable person than comes across."

Carson also said the pair had "buried the hatchet" over previous campaign trail rhetoric. "That was all political stuff, that happens in American politics," Carson said.

Throughout his endorsement speech, Carson stressed the need for a unified Republican party, noting that he wanted to stand behind the candidate that the majority of Republican voters had also supported thus far.

"That was all political stuff"

"I want the voice of the people to be heard," Carson said after he was introduced by Trump. "I want the political process to play out the way it should."

Carson is well aware that his endorsement may come as a bit of a surprise.

"We move on, because it's not about me, it's not about Mr. Trump, it's about America," Carson said. "There is a lot more alignment philosophically and spiritually than I ever though there was."

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Trump previewed the announcement on Thursday night during the 12th Republican debate.

"I was with Dr. Ben Carson today, who is endorsing me, by the way, tomorrow morning," Trump said at the debate in Miami. "We spoke for over an hour on education."

Carson is the second former presidential hopefuls to endorse Trump, alongside New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie who threw his support behind the Republican frontrunner in February in Texas.

Though Carson's own campaign failed to gain much traction, his endorsement could be a boost for Trump in his bid for the Republican nomination, particularly among religious conservatives.

Trump has a significant lead in delegates in the GOP primary, but votes in this week's winner-take-all states Ohio and Florida could make or break it for other contenders. 

Carson officially dropped out of the race on March 4 at the Conservative Political Action Conference, after his campaign announced he saw no "political path forward."

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