Will Donald Trump change his confrontational style?

The Republican presidential frontrunner enters 'The No Spin Zone'

This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," March 16, 2016. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
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Let's bring in Donald Trump who joins us now from New York City. So, things are looking good for you, as mentioned. Does it mean this will change your confrontational style a bit? Do you have to become more statesman like?

TRUMP: Well, I don't know, Bill. I mean we are doing pretty well the way it is. And I would say that I always like to be a gentleman. But, you know, I started off there was 17 people, all smart, all tough, all cunning and, you know, it's now down to three. If you want to say three. And we're getting down to the wire and I'm leading by a substantial margin. I had a great night last night. We won five, a total of five including the islands. And that was really a great night.

O'REILLY: OK. But, you got to be looking out now, I would assume your campaign is, to the fact that you may very well get the nomination. And if you do, you are going to need 65 million votes to defeat Hillary Clinton. Somewhere in that ball park. So, perceptions are being formed now. Many have already formed their opinion on you. Would it be wise for you to kind of come back from the confrontational style and be more statesman like?

TRUMP: Well, I think it would be. And I think I will be. And, you know, I do want to finish this off. I'm dealing with two smart, tough guys. And I want to make sure I end up winning. I would like to get to the finish line. I'm pretty good to getting to finish lines so I want to make sure. But it certainly would be. And I think that's what you are going to see.

O'REILLY: All right. Well, that's why I asked the question. So, we are not going to hear lying Ted anymore? That's not going to be with you and Cruz, and that's not going to lying Ted anymore?

TRUMP: Well, I can't say that. I've been -- I think I will save it to maybe after I'm finished with this because you know, I like to tell the truth. We'll see what happens --

O'REILLY: Say nice things about him.

TRUMP: We'll see what happens.

O'REILLY: I don't know if lying Ted is a good line. You know, OK, now, look, you are in a position where you're being attacked by MoveOn and this other very organized radical left groups. You know it, your security knows it. And your Secret Service knows it. That's going to continue. Do you have a plan on how you're going to handle that?

TRUMP: Well, it is going to continue because the last person they want to face, the Democrats want to face, is me. And the last person Hillary Clinton wants to face is me. And I mean I know that for a fact and people like to report it different ways. But, they want to have me out. They want to have somebody else to run against Hillary, assuming she gets to the starting gate, which is a big question. I mean are these emails going to allow her to get to the starting point.

O'REILLY: Yes. All right. The FBI could come in but she is going to win the vote. But, you know, you get in trouble when you react. All right? So the proactive forces are coming at you. And then you reacted and you have said some very questionable things like maybe we punch them in the face or something like that. What I'm trying to get at is --

TRUMP: Yes. I didn't say that Bill.

O'REILLY: Something along those lines.

TRUMP: We had a very rough dude -- we had a very rough dude and a massive 25,000 seat auditorium. Every seat was packed. And this guy was very physical with a lot of people. I was seeing it. And all I did was make the statement. I wouldn't mind doing it. But you have to understand where it all comes from.

O'REILLY: OK. And I do. But is restraint now required on your part? Because, again, you are going to be provoked. Is restraint required?

TRUMP: I think so. And I think I have been restrained, Bill. You know, we have very little problem. I have had the biggest, as you know better than anybody, I have had the most people by far, not even close, and, you know, we have 20,000, 25,000 people routinely. And, you know, we have one person stand up. And it's usually somebody that is sent in by, I don't know who sends them in. But we have very little problem. Then in Chicago, we could have had a problem, and I made a decision and got credit for that decision to cancel.

O'REILLY: Yes. I support the decision.

TRUMP: Because there that was very -- that was really confrontational.

O'REILLY: You are going to see them. You will going to see Black Lives Matter, MoveOn, all of these people trying to brand you as some Nazi and the press will go along with it. Enabling them to do their deal. But they're baiting you. And I'm speaking from experience. I don't know whether you remember Al Franken but he baited me. I guess it was 10 years ago. I felt for like an idiot. And he won --

TRUMP: Yes.

O'REILLY: -- in the sense that he got all this publicity and he was able to lie at will and do what he did. He is a despicable human being but he won because I reacted to him. I should have floated above it and I'm wondering whether you can float above MoveOn and Black Lives Matter. Is it possible?

TRUMP: I think I can the only thing I would say is this, we have some very big events scheduled with 25, 35,000 people. One 32,000 all sold out. And, you know, when people go in there and they interrupt and they stand up and in many cases they start things like, you know, raising their fists and maybe hitting people, we're not going to, you know --

O'REILLY: No, security is going to handle that.

TRUMP: The people in that room won't say it. I know but the people in the room, in all fairness to them, I don't know, I mean, I don't know if they are going to stand for it, Bill. But that's what happens. They provoke to such an extent. But the answer is yes. I would absolutely be able to stand above it.

O'REILLY: OK. Because, Donald Trump now is not speaking as the art of the deal guy or the apprentice guy. You are not speaking anymore on that level. Now you are speaking for the -- the United States. You may be president. I mean, so your rhetoric --

TRUMP: I understand.

O'REILLY: -- means so much more than it used to me. You know, you are in a different place. A place you have never been in. I'm just wondering how much you have thought about all that.

TRUMP: Well, I've thought about it and at the same time we want to be effective. We have to be effective people at what we do and what we're doing. But I certainly have thought about it. I think it's a very terrible thing going on though, Bill. People will have a rally or they will have, you know, whether it's 2,000 or 500 people and people are set in to those places. Now, I must say, it happens with me more because I'm the frontrunner --

O'REILLY: Right.

TRUMP: And they want to make me a little bit more than they would somebody else.

O'REILLY: They want to provoke you.

(CROSSTALK)

Look, they don't want to provoke John Kasich. Nobody is going to provoke John Kasich.

TRUMP: No.

O'REILLY: Ted Cruz, yes, they don't like him but they want to bait you into doing something. And then the press --

TRUMP: Well, they don't think that Kasich or Cruz is going to win, so they don't really care.

O'REILLY: No, no, no. I disagree with you. It's personal against you. They don't care about Kasich and Cruz winning. They don't like you. Because you stand for border, deportations of immigrants, stopping Muslims temporarily from coming here. All of these things, your opposition feels are human rights violations. They don't like you. That's why they are doing it.

TRUMP: Well, whatever. And I'm the frontrunner. And I think they probably feel in the other cases they may be wasting their time in all fairness. So we will see what happens.

O'REILLY: All right.

TRUMP: No, I'm not going to be provoked. But at the same time, you have to take tough action when this happens. But you can't let them get away with it so do you have to take action. And I think you agree with that.

O'REILLY: Yes. So, it's a tight rope you have to walk. But let your security do it.

TRUMP: That's right.

O'REILLY: And be the peacemaker, that's what I would do.

TRUMP: Okay.

O'REILLY: Be the peacemaker.

TRUMP: I will do it. I will do it.

O'REILLY: Now, Hillary Clinton, your likely opponent, you're going to go scorched earth on Hillary Clinton? I mean, are you going to get in to all the personal stuff with her and her husband and all the scandals? Are you going to do all that?

TRUMP: Well, I think I would rather not say now. It's a little bit early. I want to get it first. And, you know, we had one little run-in about two months ago and I helped Bernie a lot because frankly her numbers came down very big after that. But that was my only real confrontation with her. We're going to see what happens. But, whatever it is, it is. I will do whatever I have to do.

O'REILLY: Okay.

TRUMP: You know, my whole concept, Bill, is very simple. Hey, Bill.

O'REILLY: Yes.

TRUMP: My whole concept, make America great again. That's what we're going to do. She cannot make America great again. She is going to fail on trade. She is going to fail on the military. She has been so bad with the military, it's horrible to look at what's happened to our country.

O'REILLY: OK. But just remember --

TRUMP: She has been there a long time, Bill.

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