Ben Carson told the AP in an interview on Wednesday—without the knowledge of his campaign manager—that he is looking to make some major changes to his campaign ahead of the Iowa caucus. "Everything is on the table," Carson said, including potential "personnel changes." The retired neurosurgeon has struggled in the polls as of late and some of his campaign's internal tiffs have gone public.

Barry Bennett, Carson's campaign manager later told The Daily Beast that there was "no shake up in staff," after he had a conversation with the candidate. He did not respond when asked if the differences in opinion were stemming from business manager Armstrong Williams. Doug Watts, Carson's communications manager said that both he and Bennett were retaining their positions in the campaign and claimed that both he and Bennett were aware of the interview despite the AP report. He then provided a vague statement about what Carson was implying regarding "personnel changes."

“I have 100 percent confidence in my campaign team," the statement attributed to Carson read. "We have come a long way and accomplished great things together, and together we look forward to winning in Iowa and beyond. We are refining some operational practices and streamlining some staff assignments to more aptly match the tasks ahead, but my senior team remains in place with my full confidence, and they will continue to execute our campaign plan.”

Armstrong Williams did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast.

—Gideon Resnick