Jimmy Carter: I'd Be 'Very Pleased' to See Mitt Romney Get the GOP Nomination

This can't be the kind of endorsement Mitt Romney was hoping for.

Former President Jimmy Carter said he would be "very pleased" to see the former Massachusetts governor get the Republican nomination for president.

Carter's comments came during a discussion with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow about Romney's Mormon faith.

"I'm not taking a position, but I would be very pleased to see him win the Republican nomination," Carter said during an interview broadcast Thursday. "My preference would be for a religious faith not to be an adverse factor."

Still, the former Democratic president added: "I don't think anybody's going to beat Obama next year."

Earlier this week, Carter came out in support of the Palestinian bid for U.N. statehood recognition.

The Romney campaign would not comment on Carter's remarks, Fox News reported.

Carter also had an appreciative word for Minnesota congresswoman and GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, who worked on Carter's 1976 presidential campaign.

Bachmann has previously stated she used to be a Democrat before switching to the Republican Party because she disagreed with certain foreign and domestic policies.

"I know, and I appreciate that she helped me out!" Carter said.

Carter also said he thinks the trend of candidates trumpeting their faith on the campaign trail to be troubling, and that it's even "unconstitutional" when an incumbent president does so.

"I think in a slight way it's even unconstitutional for an imcumbent president to claim his own faith should prevail and other faiths are not warranting equal treatment," Carter said, suggesting it's a violation of the First Amendment.

The intrusion of the religious community into political campaigns "violate the principles I tried to maintain while I was in the White House."

Watch the MSNBC video below; Carter's comments on religion begin at the 4:30 mark, and his comments on Romney begin at the 5:50 mark.