After 119 days on the campaign trail, Donald Trump says he doesn't plan on changing a thing.
The GOP frontrunner told NBC’s Katy Tur that he “can’t really say” that there’s anything he would change about the campaign he’s been running. “Certainly if you think back, I guess, sure I wouldn’t do this or that… I could probably have said fewer things about certain things, but honestly I’m very happy with the way it’s going…I don’t think I’m gonna do much different.”
He continued: “I never look back; I like to look forward. I like to learn from the past and I have learned.”
And as Trump so frequently points out, polling data gives him reason to be happy with his campaign’s trajectory. A new poll from Fox News shows Trump still atop the pack, though he is once again within the margin of error of rival and fellow political outsider, Ben Carson, who Trump has defended in recent weeks.
On Wednesday with NBC Trump said that he isn’t sure what’s propelling Carson in the polls, but Trump remained confident that his ability to make deals is what America needs — and it’s something only he can give. “I will negotiate deals that nobody can negotiate like I do, nobody. I know everybody that I’m running against – nobody is gonna be able to do the kind of things I can do. Ben is, you know, that’s not his thing. But he certainly seems to be resonating.”
But despite kind words for Carson, Trump wouldn’t mind the doctor throwing a few punches his way. "He’s been very nice to me, I’ve been very nice to him. I don’t know that that’s going to continue – in a certain way I hope it doesn’t because everybody that’s attacked me is down.”
For Trump to say “fewer things about certain things” would mean more political correctness – and that’s not something he’s willing to give his time and energy to. “I could be more politically correct, but to be honest with you, I think one of the reasons I am doing well is because I don’t wanna…” he trailed off in a way consistent with his flowing thought and speech pattern exhibited on the campaign trail.
“Being politically correct takes a lot of time,” Trump said. “It takes a lot of effort. We don’t have time in this country. Our country is really in trouble.”
So what has Trump learned on the trail? Faith in the voters. “The American public gets it.,” he told NBC News. “They’re really smart.” And so far, the “silent majority” of them like Trump.
