Donald Trump doesn’t have any regrets about running one of the most divisive presidential races in U.S. history. The controversial POTUS-elect — who came under fire for sexist comments and once mocked a disabled man, among other negative remarks during his campaign — told The Wall Street Journal in an exclusive new interview published on Friday, November 11, that he doesn’t believe he took his rhetoric too far.
“No,” he told the paper when asked about his controversial comments. “I won.”
The Republican former Apprentice host, 70, who met with President Obama for the first time on Thursday, also told the WSJ that he plans to take a more positive tone now that he’s president-elect.
“It’s different now,” Trump said. “I want a country that loves each other. I want to stress that.”
Trump, who has called the recent protests against him “unfair,” explained that he’ll ease tension by providing jobs. The businessman also may have had a change of heart when it comes to his campaign to repeal Obama’s Affordable Care Act, after the president asked him to reconsider.
“I told him I will look at his suggestions, and out of respect, I will do that,” Trump said. “Either Obamacare will be amended, or repealed and replaced.”
The POTUS-elect declined to tell the WSJ his top priority after taking office, but said he has “a lot of first priorities.”
Trump, who is the first person to be elected U.S. president without serving in the military or holding public office, concluded he will rely heavily on his Vice President-elect Mike Pence.
“Mike will have a big role,” he said of the Indiana governor. “He’s very capable.”
