Ben Carson Presidential Campaign Headed For A Big Shake Up: ‘Every Job Is On The Table’

Once a rising star in the present quest for a Republican presidential nominee, Ben Carson appears to be moving into crisis mode with regard to his campaign efforts. Slipping in the polls over the course of recent weeks, the former neurosurgeon has publicly hinted that he will be making some major changes in his campaign as key primarily election dates draw closer.

In a story published on Wednesday, the Washington Post recounted an interview with Ben Carson in which the Republican candidate aired grievances regarding the management of his campaign, as well as the compensation of some of his top staffers. The article suggested that Carson was ready to make serious changes to the personnel within his camp, indicating that we was ready to fire staff who were not meeting expectations.

“I’m looking at every aspect of the campaign right now,” Carson said. “Everything is on the table, every job is on the table. And we’re going to analyze it very carefully. It’s not perfect, and we’re going to work on it.”

A short time later, Carson walked back his statements, as well as the tone and assertions in the Washington Post piece during an interview with Don Lemon of CNN.

“The Washington Post, quite frankly, had their story already written before they talked to me,” Carson told Lemon. “And they were convinced that I was gonna fire everybody and we were going to just go in a completely different direction, and that’s absolutely not true.”

Carson’s initial comments reportedly fostered confusion and concern among his staff, according to Washington Post reporters Robert Costa and Jose A. DelReal, who added that some within the campaign have started to wonder who is in charge. The present situation is not the first time that Ben Carson’s campaign has suffered some public disorganization and embarrassment, either. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, a Carson consultant publicly complained that the candidate had shown an inability to absorb foreign policy briefings. A spokesperson for Carson later downplayed the consultant’s relationship with the campaign.

Although Ben Carson surged in the polls just months ago, a number of controversies and gaffes appear to have gradually stripped away his appeal with a large portion of Republican voters. Openly mocked by Donald Trump over inconsistencies in his autobiography, Ben Carson struggled to avoid a direct confrontation with the blustery real estate mogul and reality star but still emerged from the flap with a diminished public image. Scrutiny over Carson’s unusual belief that the Egyptian pyramids were built by Joseph to store grain did not exactly bolster the candidate’s appeal as a “mainstream” political candidate, either.

Carson, who once led Donald Trump in polls of likely Iowa voters, is now trailing Trump by an average of 20 points, according to Real Clear Politics. The Iowa caucuses, which will take place on February 1, will be followed by two other important early GOP primaries in New Hampshire and South Carolina. New Hampshire polling data shows Carson falls well behind Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and three other candidates in that race. He is a bit stronger in South Carolina polls but still trails Trump by an average of 22 points.

For what it’s worth, Ben Carson is still optimistic that he will emerge from the early contests as a strong frontrunner.

We have come a long way and accomplished great things together, and together we look forward to winning in Iowa and beyond,” Carson noted in the above-noted article by the Washington Post. “We are refining some operational practices and streamlining some staff assignments to more aptly match the tasks ahead.”

In addition to losing support from voters, Carson has also missed out on some important endorsements as of late. While he did receive the support of South Carolina church leaders earlier this month, his opponent Ted Cruz garnered a major endorsement by an important Iowa-based evangelical leader just one week later, as noted by the Des Moines Register. Evangelicals have long been regarded as the core of Ben Carson’s supporters but many are now looking towards Ted Cruz to carry the fight to the Democrats during the general election.

[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]