Donald Trump says he doesn't regret anything about the way he's run his controversial presidential campaign — after all, it's gotten him the status of presumptive nominee of the Republican Party — but if he doesn't end up winning the whole thing is a waste.
"If I don't go all the way, and if I don't win, I will consider it to be a total and complete waste of time, energy and money," Trump told Megyn Kelly in a much-touted interview that aired Tuesday on Fox broadcast stations.
Kelly, the host of Fox News Channel's "The Kelly File," was the subject of an intense nine-month Twitter rant from Trump after she brought up in the very first GOP debate how he has called women unkind names on the social media site.
Kelly never responded to Trump's attacks, and approached him in April about the interview for her special on Fox's broadcast network.
Trump said that while he does have regrets in his life, he doesn't want to say what they are. But the way he has conducted his campaign definitely is not among them, he told Kelly, including his insults of her, which he explained were simply counterpunches for the way he felt she mistreated him in asking the question.
"I think if I didn't conduct myself in the way I've done it, I don't think I would have been successful actually," Trump said, sounding much more muted in tone than in his campaign speeches or even in typical news show interviews.
"If I were soft, if I were, you know, 'presidential' … if I would not have fought back the way I fought back, I don't think I would have been successful," he said.
Kelly suggested that some of his tweets against opponents might be considered bullying — especially against people who are not public figures.
Trump disagreed, saying he is a person, too, and is simply "fighting for survival" just like everyone else.
He also said he views himself now as a "messenger," bringing a voice to those who support his candidacy.
"This is a massive thing that's going on," he said.