Trump Apologizes for Words on Campaign Trail, Says 'I Will Never Lie to You'
Trump campaigned Thursday night in North Carolina.
— -- Donald Trump on Thursday appeared to stash away the bravado he has displayed at his rallies, apologizing for what appears to be the first time for his controversial words on the campaign trail and saying "I will never lie to you."
"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. I have done that, and believe it or not I regret it," Trump said.
"I do regret it particularly where it may have caused personal pain.” It was a remarkable departure for the candidate who almost never expresses regret out on the campaign trail, unless in jest.
Trump was not specific about the remarks he says he regretted, but he has made numerous controversial comments and offered falsehoods over the course of his campaign, from calling Mexican immigrants rapists, to insulting a federal judge for his Mexican heritage.
Most recently, he tangled with a Gold Star family of a fallen Muslim soldier and said President Obama was the founder of ISIS.
Earlier this year, Trump said that he had regrets in the wake of a feud he had with Fox News host Megyn Kelly. Trump said he "absolutely" had regrets, "but if I didn't conduct myself in the way I've done it, I don't think I would have been successful actually."
Trump, who shook up his staff in recent days, appeared to strike a different tone during his speech at the Charlotte Convention Center, reading from a teleprompter, as he has chided Hillary Clinton for doing and again making an appeal to African-American voters.
Sources said that the new team, including campaign manager Kellyanne Conway and CEO Steve Bannon, watched the speech together in New York.
During the speech, Trump, who has floated numerous questionable claims during his candidacy, promised the American people that he would never lie to them.
"I’ve traveled all across this country laying out my bold and modern agenda for change. In this journey, I will never lie to you. I will never tell you something I do not believe. I will never put anyone’s interests ahead of yours," he said.
"So while sometimes I can be too honest, Hillary Clinton is the exact opposite: she never tells the truth. One lie after another, and getting worse each passing day.”
Trump began his remarks offering condolences to the flood-ravaged state of Louisiana.
"We are one nation. When one state hurts, we all hurt,” he said. "Our prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones, and we send them our deepest condolences.”
Trump and running mate Mike Pence will travel to Baton Rouge on Friday to visit the area.
The Republican nominee also made a direct appeal to African-American voters, a voting bloc he has deeply struggled with. The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll showed that Trump has a 2 percent approval rating among those voters.
“If African-American voters give Donald Trump a chance by giving me their vote, the result for them will be amazing,” he said.
And hit Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the process.
"Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party have taken African-American votes totally for granted," he said. "Because the votes have been automatically there for them, there has been no reason for Democrats to produce and they haven't. They haven't produced in decades and decades.”
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