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Donald Trump debates against his three rivals during the CNN, Salem Media Group, The Washington Times Republican Presidential Primary Debate on March 10, 2016, in Coral Gables, Florida. | Getty Trump touts Carson endorsement in debate surprise

Donald Trump brought a surprise to Thursday night's debate—an endorsement from former presidential rival Ben Carson.

The New York billionaire was asked by moderator Jake Tapper what his specific issues were with Common Core when he pivoted to his endorsement.

“I was with Dr. Carson today, who’s endorsing me by the way tomorrow morning, and we spoke for over an hour on education,” Trump said. “He wants a lot of different things that are terrific.”

“I’m gonna have Ben very much involved with education,” Trump said.

Carson – who dropped out of the race last week – was expected to endorse Trump during a press conference in Florida Friday morning. In an interview with Fox News Radio Thursday Carson said there were two different Trumps and he was considering supporting the "thinking" version.

“There’s two Donald Trumps. There’s the Donald Trump that you see on television and who gets out in front of big audiences, and there’s the Donald Trump behind the scenes,” he said. “They’re not the same person. One’s very much an entertainer, and one is actually a thinking individual.”

He said he was "certainly leaning" toward an endorsement.

Carson's Trump endorsement is a blow to Cruz because Carson draws evangelical supporters from the same segment of the GOP that the Texas senator is competing for.