Donald Trump says he regrets things he said that may have 'caused personal pain'

Donald Trump has expressed some remorse for things he has said during his raucous presidential campaign.

At a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday, the GOP presidential candidate suggested he may have gone too far since he announced his bid for the White House more than a year ago.

"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," Trump mused.

Although he was not specific about what he regretted, there has been no shortage of controversy during the brash billionaire's presidential campaign. 

Trump last year called out Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who spent five years in a prisoner-of-war camp after his plane was shot down over Vietnam in 1967.

More recently, the real-estate mogul had a very public feud with a Gold Star family and made a comment that was widely interpreted as a suggestion of violence against his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. 

Thursday's speech was the first time Trump spoke after radically overhauling his campaign staff earlier this week. After admitting his regrets, Trump attacked Clinton, slamming the former secretary of state for the email scandal that has plagued her campaign. 

The Clinton campaign sent out a statement following Trump's speech, saying "Donald Trump literally started his campaign by insulting people. He has continued to do so through each of the 428 days from then until now, without shame or regret."

"That apology tonight is simply a well-written phrase until he tells us which of his many offensive, bullying and divisive comments he regrets - and changes his tune altogether," the statement read.