Ben Carson will endorse Donald Trump Donald John TrumpHR McMaster says president's policy to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is 'unwise' Cast of 'Parks and Rec' reunite for virtual town hall to address Wisconsin voters Biden says Trump should step down over coronavirus response MORE for president on Friday.

Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who ended his own presidential bid earlier this month, will join Trump at a press conference at the businessman’s Mar-A-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., to make the announcement.

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Trump confirmed the endorsement in the GOP debate Thursday night. And Trump, talking about Common Core, said Carson "will be very much involved in education."

Carson said earlier in the day in a Fox News Radio interview with John Gibson that he would be open to being an adviser for Trump.

"I'm willing to be an adviser to anyone who is going to have a significant effect on the future of our nation," he said.

Trump and Carson both have homes in West Palm Beach and proved to be friendly adversaries throughout the nominating process.

Their campaigns colluded at one point to seize the debate negotiating process from the Republican National Committee, and Trump went strongly after Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzLoeffler calls for hearing in wake of Netflix's 'Cuties' Health care in the crosshairs with new Trump Supreme Court list 'Parks and Rec' cast members hosting special reunion to raise money for Wisconsin Democrats MORE’s campaign for spreading the false rumor that Carson was dropping out of the race before the Iowa caucuses.

Carson rarely, if ever, criticized Trump while they were competing, and at debates, Trump repeatedly lauded Carson as a good and decent man.

Over the summer, Carson became the first Republican to challenge Trump atop the polls, putting an exclamation point on a cycle dominated by political outsiders and insurgent candidates.

While endorsements have the most part had little impact on the GOP race so far, Carson’s backing could help Trump on a number of fronts.

Carson will bring the energy of the tens of thousands of grassroots supporters that poured tens of millions of dollars into his campaign coffers. Long after Carson had become an afterthought in the GOP race, he continued to flirt with 10 percent support nationally in the polls.

Trump has so far done far better among evangelical voters than anyone expected, and Carson could help him solidify that base. He is still admired by many conservatives, who believe he handled himself with a quiet dignity throughout the campaign.

As the only black Republican candidate that ran for president, Carson could help Trump beat back criticism that Trump has failed to adequately repudiate white supremacist David Duke.

In Thursday's radio interview, Carson suggested that there are two versions of Trump.

“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," Carson said.

"They’re not the same person. One’s very much an entertainer, and one is actually a thinking individual," the retired neurosurgeon said of his personal experience with his former rival.

Carson went on to describe Trump as someone whom one could "reason with very easily and who is very comfortable talking about issues and recognizing that he doesn't have all the answers."

- Jesse Byrnes contributed