Trump for the First Time Acknowledges at Times He Has Said ‘The Wrong Thing’ (Video)
After 14 Months of Verbally Assaulting America GOP Nominee Blames ‘The Heat of Debate’ and Says ‘I Regret It’
Donald Trump says he “regrets” some of the comments he has made over the past 14 months of his campaign, telling voters in Charlotte, North Carolina that sometimes in the “heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don’t choose the right words or you say the wrong thing.”
The brash and ever-unapologetic billionaire who kicked off his campaign in June of 2015 by attacking Mexicans as rapists and has almost daily ramped up his hate speech acknowledged for the first time ever that he has sometimes said “the wrong thing.”
“I have done that. And believe it or not, I regret it. And I do regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain. Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues,” Trump said, delivering the first speech since appointing the head of the far-right wing Breitbart News to run his campaign.
“But one thing I can promise you, is this: I will always tell you the truth,” he claimed.
Trump did not specify which remarks he regrets. He did not state if he regretted calling Mexicans “rapists,” attacking Gold Star family Khizr and Ghazala Khan, calling Hillary Clinton “crooked,” saying Sen. John McCain is “not a hero,” or repeatedly attacking journalists from Fox News’ Megyn Kelly to NBC News’ Katy Tur, and the entire “dishonest media.”Â
The list of course, is endless.
BREAKING: GOP pres. nominee Trump: “Sometimes in the heat of debate…you say the wrong thing and…I regret it” pic.twitter.com/dZ8oSBZJKt
— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) August 19, 2016
Some responses via Twitter:
It doesn’t matter what Trump regrets. He’ll say new stuff in 36 or 48 hours. Everybody in an abusive relationship of any sort knows this.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 19, 2016
Trump “regrets” some of the things he did that are making him lose that he thought would make him win.
— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) August 19, 2016
Trump surrogates on TV who defended every crazy thing Trump ever said are now cheering that he said he regrets saying (unspecified) things
— Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) August 19, 2016
1: Folks, Trump has now done his pivot/regret speech. The press is lapping it up, saying it’s new opening for Trump, a change in the race.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 19, 2016
So, to sum up the Trump speech, he expressed regret for being “too honest” about the controversial things he’s said. Too honest.
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) August 19, 2016
NO, TRUMP DID NOT APOLOGIZE. YES, I’M GETTING SHOUTY.
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) August 19, 2016
Trump has been obnoxious for 70 years. Now, facing the prospect of humiliating defeat, he’s claiming to regret his behavior. Believe it?
— Josh Greenman (@joshgreenman) August 19, 2016
If the media starts talking about Trump “pivoting†again after this speech, I think I might just completely lose my mind.
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) August 19, 2016
Trump’s regret is exactly like a job interview where you say your greatest weakness is that you work too hard.
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) August 18, 2016
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