Remember when Ted Cruz’s campaign told Iowa voters ahead of the state’s influential caucus that rival Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson had decided to drop out? How could you not? Not only did fellow candidate Donald Trump jump onto the controversy in order to damage Cruz for his own political benefit (I mean, he did lose Iowa to Cruz), but the issue also came up at the ABC GOP Debate. According to a new report out Friday, neither the Cruz nor the Carson campaigns have let bygones by bygones — thanks mostly to a secret meeting held in a closet.
The Daily Beast reports that, before the Conservative Review convention in Greensville, S.C. on Thursday, the two Republican candidates met in secret in the only neutral place they could agree on — a dark storage closet protected by Carson’s Secret Service detail. Yes, this actually happened, and yes, representatives from both candidate have confirmed that this so-called “secret” meeting took place. The details, however, come from The Daily Beast, other outlets and the many unnamed sources who apparently witnessed the entire charade.
It “did not go well.”
The meeting, which took place in a storage closet across from a bathroom at the convention center on Thursday, ended with Carson saying “we agree to disagree.”
“We disagree on accountability and culpability,” is how Carson put it according to [his Senior Communications Strategist, Jason] Osborne.
Think that’s weird? Don’t worry, because it only gets better.
A Republican operative told The Daily Beast that the Cruz campaign wanted to have the conversation on “neutral ground” so they would not allow for it to take place in Carson’s green room, which was right next to Cruz’s.
Reporters were allegedly already calling the Carson campaign as the meeting was going on, with the two full-grown men in a closet that allegedly had no chairs, which indicates that someone leaked details in advance of The Daily Beast being informed about the meeting.
Secret Service members were guarding the door and simply said to a Republican operative in the hallway: “Yeah they’re in that closet.”
While a spokesperson for Cruz campaign confirmed that a meeting did take place, all he said was that the two men had a “good visit.” No corroborating details were given, but none were needed. Osborne, as well as other persons affiliated with the Carson camp, was able to paint a detailed enough picture that explained just how incredibly awkward the whole thing was.
Might as well add this to the filled-to-the-brim gallery of weird things that have occurred on the campaign trail in just the last week alone. Things like Trump’s spat with Pope Francis, Carson’s unnecessary comment about bear attacks, and the “Hookers for Hillary” campaign in Nevada.
(Via The Daily Beast)