In Irving, Ben Carson says he has been offered money, political support to drop out | Dallas Morning News

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks at a town hall meeting hosted by the NE Tarrant Tea Party at the Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport in Irving, Texas on Feb. 27, 2016. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson told supporters Saturday in Irving that he has heard plenty of calls to drop out of the Republican presidential primary.

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Some “special interests” have even made personal appeals to him, he said.

“I’ve got unanswered calls on my phone right now, ‘Oh, if you did this or did this, and did this, or if you drop out and support this guy, we’ll give you all this money and we’ll make sure you’re a senator here,’” Carson said. “What a bunch of crap. This is about saving our nation. This is not about horse-trading and making deals.”

Carson told a reporter afterward that he wasn’t going to say who called him, but said his reaction is those people can “go jump in a lake.”

The one-time Iowa frontrunner vowed to fight on days before the Texas primary, where polls show him in a battle with Ohio Gov. John Kasich for a distant fourth place in a field of five contenders. And in his speech at the Northeast Tarrant County Tea Party event, Carson continued to zig as his Republican rivals zag.

While Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and business mogul Donald Trump have traded insults, Carson said he didn’t think it was a good idea to criticize of his fellow Republicans and invoked his faith at every turn. While his opponents talked of Israel and Planned Parenthood and Trump’s business acumen and Israel and endorsements, Carson talked about the national debt and his flat tax plan.

Carson said he doesn’t think the other candidates talk enough about the $19 trillion national debt. He said that he was “very disappointed in the so-called debate”  Thursday night in Houston.

A Ben Carson supporter holds a sign while Carson speaks at a town hall meeting hosted by the NE Tarrant Tea Party at the Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport in Irving, Texas on Feb. 27, 2016. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)

“We’re just trying to entertain people,” Carson said. “It reminds me so much of ancient Rome — everyone wants to go to the Coliseum and somebody stabs someone with a sword and they go, ‘Yeah, this is great.’ And a tiger tears somebody’s head off, and they go, ‘Ah, this is wonderful.’ And nobody is paying attention to the crumbling society around them.”

The analogy was the closest Carson came Saturday to a criticism of his fellow Republicans. He said such attacks are not “useful” to him.

More than 300 supporters turned out to listen to Carson, although only about 200 were able to fit inside a ballroom at The Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport. (Carson addressed the overflow crowd before his speech). The showing was dwarfed by Trump and Rubio’s crowds at events Friday in Fort Worth and Dallas, respectively.

Still, Carson said he believes he will exceed expectations in Texas, one of 12 states to cast ballots for a nominee Tuesday. He said his plan to make a comeback and win the nomination is “waking people up so they actually understand what’s going on in this country.”

Carson also said he will support the eventual nominee — even though he still hopes that will be him.

But even some staunch supporters at the rally, who want Carson to fight on, don’t see much hope.

CC Wafford of the small Collin County town of Nevada, said she will likely vote for Carson.

Wafford learned about him 20 years ago when she was researching brain surgeons for her daughter, then a toddler. She went with a local surgeon — the procedure was successful — but said she has long been a fan Carson, who she described as “the only candidate I can trust on either side.”

“When he opens his mouth, it’s believable,” said Wafford, a special education teacher. “When he opens his mouth, it’s not to attack someone else.”

Wafford, a special education teacher, said the other political outsider in the race, Trump, is “a clown.”

A woman stands up to applaud Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson as he speaks at a town hall meeting hosted by the NE Tarrant Tea Party at the Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport in Irving, Texas on Feb. 27, 2016. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)

But her husband, Steven, switched from Carson to Cruz because he didn’t think Carson could win.

Rick Munroe, 63, of Haltom City, has similar reservations as Steven. Munroe said he wanted to hear Carson speak and wanted his 11-year-old grandson to get Carson’s book for teens, “You Have A Brain,” signed.

Munroe has made a few small contributions to Carson. But he likes Rubio and Cruz — and may consider an anti-Trump vote for Rubio on Tuesday.

He said he likes Kasich, too. But Munroe just doesn’t think the governor or Carson have much of a shot.

“It’s the wrong year for a lot of them because of Donald Trump,” Munroe said.

Twitter: @TristanHallman

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