And I do regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain.
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He added: “Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues”. As the crowd cheered, Trump pledged to “always tell you the truth”.
Trump’s public expression of regret came at his first rally since he made major changes to his campaign leadership earlier this week, installing a new campaign manager and bringing on a campaign CEO.
Speaking Thursday, Trump did not specify what he regretted and did not directly apologize to anyone.
Trump’s remarks in North Carolina last night contained softer language at times in a speech punctuated with uncharacteristic rhetorical flourishes for the NY billionaire.
In addition to Bannon, Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway filled the campaign manager position left vacant since Trump fired his former campaign chief nearly two months ago.
Facing a polling deficit against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, Trump has tried to reset his campaign, announcing on Wednesday a shake-up of his senior campaign staff.
“But that apology tonight is simply a well-written phrase until he tells us which of his many offensive, bully divisive comments he regrets – and changes his tune altogether”.
His public feud with an American Muslim family whose son was killed while serving in the USA military in Iraq did little positive for Trump’s ailing campaign.
Clinton’s campaign, meanwhile, brushed the speech off as just words he read from a teleprompter.
Trump now trails Clinton in preference polls of most key battleground states. “You do things and you say things”.
Spicer also urged caution as Trump’s new team contemplates whether the fiery populism and freewheeling style that won him the Republican nomination will give him a better shot at the White House than uniting his party and rallying moderate voters. “He has continued to do so through each of the 428 days from then until now, without shame or regret”, said spokeswoman Christina Reynolds in a statement.
“I refuse to let another generation of American children be excluded from the American Dream”, he said.
The Republican nominee also made a direct appeal to African-American voters, a voting bloc he has deeply struggled with. I speak the truth on behalf of the factory worker who lost his or her job.
Marc Dalson, a 41-year-old father of four who lives in Dover, North Carolina, has closely followed Trump’s campaign and said the nominee seems to have finally found a way to be scripted without losing his distinctive voice and style.
“The establishment media doesn’t cover what really matters in this country, or what’s really going on in people’s lives”, he said.
Just 27 per cent of registered voters say that Trump would make a good or great president, while about twice as many (55 per cent) say he would be either poor or awful (with 43 per cent saying he would make a “terrible” president).
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Weary Republican leaders are accepting Donald Trump’s latest staff shake-up, hopeful that a new leadership team can reverse the NY businessman’s struggles even as some worry it’s too little too late.
