Former Republican hopeful Ben Carson has confirmed his support for his former rival and front-runner Donald Trump in the US presidential race.
He made the endorsement at a joint news conference in Florida with Mr Trump, ahead of primaries there on Tuesday.
The winner of the Republican nomination will face Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders for the Democrats, in November.
Mr Carson is the second former candidate to endorse Mr Trump after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
A retired neurosurgeon, Mr Carson was an early favourite but dropped out last week after failing to gain significant popular support.
“I have found in talking with him, that there’s a lot more alignment, philosophically and spiritually, than I ever thought that there was,” Mr Carson said of his former rival.
“Donald Trump talks a lot about making America great. It’s not just talk, he means it.”
Asked about insults that the two candidates had thrown at each other in the early stages of the campaign, Mr Carson said they had “buried the hatchet”.
“That was political stuff,” he said. “That happens in American politics.”
Meanwhile Mr Trump explained why he had targeted his competitor.
“The one person who just kept sneaking up on me, I could not lose him, is Dr Ben Carson,” Mr Trump said. “I fought back, and I hit him hard, which is politics, and he understands that.”
Mr Carson’s endorsement follows a debate in Miami on Thursday night between Mr Trump and his remaining rivals Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and John Kasich.
Mr Trump, a billionaire businessman from New York with no political experience, has dominated the state primary contests so far.
More contests next Tuesday in five states, including Florida and Ohio, could extend Mr Trump’s lead and determine whether Mr Rubio and Mr Kasich can continue in the race. BBC