Has Donald Trump promised education secretary to Ben Carson?


At Thursday night's Republican presidential debate, Donald Trump confirmed that former rival Dr. Ben Carson would be endorsing him on Friday. "I was with Dr. Ben Carson today, who by the way is endorsing me tomorrow morning," Trump said in his response to a question asked by moderator Jake Tapper about education.
"We spoke for over an hour on education, and he has such a great handle on it," Trump continued. "He wants competitive schools. He wants a lot of different things that are terrific, including charter schools... I am going to have Ben very much involved in education, something which really is an expertise of his."
If Donald Trump hadn't vowed to "cut" the U.S. Department of Education, it almost sounds like he promised education secretary to a man he once likened to a child molester.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Nico Lauricella was editor-in-chief at TheWeek.com. He was formerly the site's deputy editor and an editor at The Huffington Post.
-
How often should you check your credit report?
The explainer Contrary to what you might expect, your credit report does not contain your credit score. But it does offer a lot of other valuable information.
-
Sick 9/11 responders are being left behind amid federal spending battle
The Explainer Services have been cut and restored following outcry, but staffing issues remain
-
TV to watch in May, including 'The Four Seasons' and 'Duster'
The Week Recommends A comedy from Tina Fey, a '70s crime thriller from J.J. Abrams and an adaptation from the pages of Judy Blume
-
Supreme Court may bless church-run charter schools
Speed Read The case is 'one of the biggest on church and state in a generation'
-
Harvard sues Trump over frozen grant money
Speed Read The Trump administration withheld $2.2 billion in federal grants and contracts after Harvard rejected its demands
-
Harvard loses $2.3B after rejecting Trump demands
speed read The university denied the Trump administration's request for oversight and internal policy changes
-
USC under fire for canceling valedictorian speech
Speed Read Citing safety concerns, the university canceled a pro-Palestinian student's speech
-
Florida teachers can 'say gay' under settlement
speed read The state reached a settlement with challengers of the 2022 "Don't Say Gay" education law
-
Biden administration to forgive $39B in student loan debt for 800K borrowers
Speed Read
-
Advocacy groups challenge Harvard's legacy admissions policy
Speed Read
-
2 Michigan school districts ban backpacks after confiscating 4th gun this year
Speed Read