Carson 'Willing' to Give Kanye West a Chance as President

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson says he would be willing to give Kanye West a chance as president of the United States.

The rapper announced last month at the MTV's Video Music Awards his intent to run for president in 2020 despite saying he hates politics. Carson said he recently spoke with West and was impressed by his business savvy.

"Well, I am certainly willing to give him a chance," Carson said today on ABC's "This Week." "He'll be able to explain things and see if he resonates with the people."

"I did have an opportunity to talk with him. I was extremely impressed with his business acumen. He knows a lot about business," Carson continued. "I talked to him about the possibility of maybe himself and some of the other people in pop culture doing some music that might be uplifting that might give young women a sense of their value and young men a sense of responsibility. I think it could be a tremendous thing in our society."

West told Vanity Fair in an interview published this week that he heard Carson speak and thought he was "the most brilliant guy."

"When I run for president, I'd prefer not to run against someone. I would be like 'I want to work with you," West said. "As soon as I heard [Ben] Carson speak, I tried for three weeks to get on the phone with him. I was like this is the most brilliant guy."

West has since semi-endorsed the retired neurosurgeon.

In a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released today, Carson trailed Donald Trump by 1 percentage point in the Republican primary. Carson was up 10 points since the last NBC/WSJ poll in July.