Former presidential hopeful Ben Carson to back Donald Trump ahead of winner-take-all primaries

DONALD Trump will be endorsed by former presidential hopeful Ben Carson, handing the frontrunner another boost ahead of Super Tuesday 3.

Former Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson will now endorse Donald Trump as his party’s nomination for the US presidency election. Picture: AFP / Saul Loeb

DONALD Trump will receive the backing of former presidential hopeful Ben Carson, handing the frontrunner another boost ahead of next week’s important winner-take-all primaries.

Mr Carson’s small but fierce evangelical support base will likely flow to Mr Trump on the back of the endorsement, in a blow to key rival Ted Cruz.

Mr Trump confirmed the Carson endorsement on Friday as he doubled down on his position on Islam in a debate that largely sidestepped the penis size style insults of previous showdowns.

When asked if he believed all of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims hated America, Mr Trump replied: “A lot of them”.

Establishment favourite Marco Rubio, who has struggled to convert his political support to votes, hit back at Mr Trump saying his remarks might make him popular but they would hurt America’s standing in the world.

“You can be politically correct if you want,” Mr Trump retorted, returning to a position that plays well for him in middle America.

“I don’t want to be so politically correct. I like to solve problems. … Islam. Large portions want to use very, very harsh means.”

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Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz take a break in the televised debate. Picture: Joe Raedle / Getty Images / AFP

Mr Trump and Mr Cruz also used the debate to ridicule the idea of a contested Republican convention.

Pundits have raised the idea that no candidate will have a majority of delegates by the time the parties arrive at the Republican convention in July. In this scenario, the candidate would be chosen by delegates who come to the convention in a series of ballots.

Mr Trump and Mr Cruz — both outsiders of the establishment figures who would likely dominate a contested convention — agreed on Friday that whoever gets the most delegates should win.

Mr Cruz, though, made a pitch saying that if Mr Trump received the nomination, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton would beat him: “If we nominate Donald Trump, Hillary wins,” he claimed.

Mr Trump fired back: “Believe me, I haven’t even started on her yet,” he said.

The Carson backing builds team Trump’s momentum as the contest heads to Ohio and Florida — home states of Mr Trump’s opponents John Kasich and Marco Rubio — on Tuesday US time.

Both Tuesday contests will deliver all of their delegates to a single winner, instead of dividing them proportionally, allowing the victor to potentially carve out a wide lead over their opponent.