Photo: AP

Does Dr. Ben Carson wish that the Republican nominee was someone other than his good friend Donald Trump? Of course he does. But the Republican nominee is Donald Trump, Carson astutely noted in a radio interview yesterday. And that is perfectly fine and okay.

“Would we like to have the kind of role model that our children should all aspire to? Of course,” the Trump surrogate said on The Mike Slater Show on 760AM-KFMB on Wednesday. “Of course that would be the most desirable thing, and, uh, you don’t necessarily always get the complete package in one individual.”

Carson cited Scripture to support his point: “I don’t know that I would connect him to any one particular person, but I will say, throughout the Bible, there are many examples where God could carry out his will utilizing a particular ruler.”

“But, he had people by him who were wise, like Joseph with Pharaoh, like Daniel with Nebuchadnezzar, and so on and so forth,” Carson said. “So, you know, God’s will can be carried out in a number of ways. I think we underestimate God when we say he can’t work through this person or that person. Because, you know, we’re making ourselves God, and he’s much greater than we are.”

That Carson, an evangelical Christian, would make a (really quite nuanced!) faith-based argument justifying his support of a candidate as apparently secular and profane as Trump is to be expected. That doesn’t stop it from being hilarious, though! After all, in Carson’s formulation, what makes Trump the better candidate is that he is surrounded by people who are “wise.” This category would, presumably, include people like Carson! Which is awfully convenient. And also Rudy Giuliani, who on Thursday morning blamed New Gingrich for media reports that the Trump camp was planning an “intervention” with the candidate.

“That word, I think, honestly I love him dearly, but I think that word was used by Newt in a memo that got around,” Giuliani said. “ What a ridiculous word. An intervention is for a drug addict and it’s for someone who’s an alcoholic and I’ve had to do them with people at times. There’s nothing wrong with them, if that’s the case. Donald Trump doesn’t drink or smoke, by the way. We don’t have that problem.”

Like Joseph with Pharaoh, like Daniel with Nebuchadnezzar, and so on and so forth.