Nine times Trump denied what he said

Since launching his White House campaign
in June 2015, Republican presidential
hopeful Donald Trump has several times
walked back comments that got him in hot
water.
Here are nine times when Trump distanced
himself from his own comments:
1. John McCain
In July 2015, Trump said Republican senator
and former prisoner of war John McCain
was "not a war hero," adding: "He's a war
hero because he was captured. I like people
that weren't captured, OK?"
The remark sparked immediate
consternations among Republicans. The
next day, Trump -- then embroiled in a
primary battle with a host of challengers --
said, "Four times, I said he is a hero. But
you know... people choose little selective
pieces."
2. Megyn Kelly
Annoyed by the questions that Fox News
reporter Megyn Kelly asked him in the first
Republican presidential primary debate in
August 2015, Trump said the following day:
"You could see there was blood coming out
of her eyes. Blood coming out of her
wherever."
Was he referring to Kelly's menstrual
period? Many believed he was.
Trump told CNN: "I didn't even finish the
thought. I was going to say nose and/or
ears, because that's a very common
statement, blood flowing out of somebody's
nose."
3. Violence
"If you see somebody getting ready to throw
a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would
you? Seriously. Just knock the hell — I
promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I
promise. I promise," Trump told his
supporters in February.
The next month, after one of his supporters
hit a protester, Trump said: "I don't condone
violence, and I didn't say I was going to pay
for the fees."
4. Nuclear weapons for Japan
Should Japan have its own nuclear weapons
to defend themselves against North Korea?
In a March interview with The New York
Times, Trump said: "Would I rather have
North Korea have them with Japan sitting
there having them also? You may very well
be better off if that's the case."
After criticism from his Democratic rival
Hillary Clinton, Trump said: "She was saying
last night so many things. Donald Trump
wants to see Japan get nuclear weapons. I
never said that."
5. Cruz's dad and Oswald
"(Cruz's) father was with Lee Harvey Oswald
prior to Oswald being, you know, shot,"
Trump said in May of the father of his
primary rival Ted Cruz, citing an article in
the tabloid National Enquirer. Oswald was
the man who assassinated US president
John F. Kennedy in 1963.
The allegation about Cruz's father stirred up
a media firestorm. This time, Trump did not
deny he made the comments, but denied
any responsibility for them, saying he was
just quoting the Enquirer.
"I just asked about stories that were
appearing all over the place, not just in the
National Enquirer, about the fact that a
picture was taken of him and Lee Harvey
Oswald. They didn't deny that picture," he
told NBC's "Today" show.
6. Disabled journalist
In November 2015, Trump criticized a
statement by journalist Serge Kovaleski, who
suffers from a congenital disorder that limits
the functioning of his joints, forcing his arm
to be curled in front of him.
The candidate flailed his arms and shook
his head as if to imitate Kovaleski, saying:
"Now, the poor guy, you ought to see this
guy, 'Ah, I don't know what I said, I don't
remember."
In June on Twitter, in response to a Clinton
ad using the video sequence, Trump said:
"Clinton made a false ad about me where I
was imitating a reporter GROVELING after
he changed his story. I would NEVER mock
disabled. Shame!"
7. Vladimir Putin
"I got to know him very well because we
were both on '60 Minutes'. We were
stablemates, and we did very well that
night," Trump said of Russian President
Vladimir Putin, sparking waves on the US
political left and right.
Later, the notion that they met on the set
was debunked, as they were in different
cities when their interviews were taped.
In July, Trump said: "I have no relationship
with him."
8. Russian hackers
"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're
able to find the 30,000 emails that are
missing," Trump said in July, referring to
Clinton's private email server which she
used during her time as secretary of state.
The remark was interpreted as an invitation
to Russian intelligence services to hack his
rival.
"Of course, I'm being sarcastic," he said the
next day.
9. Second Amendment and Clinton
"Hillary wants to essentially abolish the
Second Amendment," Trump told a rally in
Wilmington, North Carolina on Tuesday,
referring to the US Constitution's clause
that enshrines the right to bear arms.
"If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you
can do, folks," Trump said. "Although the
Second Amendment people -- maybe there
is, I don't know."
His meaning was ambiguous, but the remark
was seen as a possible threat of violence
against Clinton or her Supreme Court
nominees.
Later the same night, on Fox News, the
candidate rejected that interpretation,
saying: "This is a political movement. This is
a strong powerful movement, the Second
Amendment. (...) There can be no other
interpretation."