Trump says he's 'not so good' at taking criticism: 'I usually go after them'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump is known for punching back and getting even with those who criticize him. Now, he’s admitting it.

In a candid moment on a sports podcast, the commander-in-chief conceded he’s “not so good” at brushing off critics and tends to fire right back when crossed.

The remarks came during a roughly 10-minute sit-down on Josh Pate’s College Football Show, hosted by football analyst Josh Pate.  

Trump admits he doesn't let criticism slide

Pate pressed Trump on how he handles face-to-face encounters with people who’ve publicly slammed him.

“You frequently have to be face-to-face with people who have maybe said not such nice things about you in the past, maybe you've said things their way in the past, and there's this separation,” Pate said. “It's always fascinated me because normal people aren't really capable of the separation of business and personal, right? And I watch you do it all the time. And I mean, is that instinctive? Is that something you need to have? Is that something you can learn? 'Cause it's not normal.”

Trump didn’t claim to be a Zen master.

“Well, when I do that, I mean, you're talking about like some people that you don't like, and you're dealing with them, but I'm not so good at that,” he replied. 

"I usually go after them,” he admitted. “I shouldn't go after them, but I do. I tend to probably do it. I don't know if that's good or bad. Nobody's ever going to figure that one out, but no, I have a lot of people I don't like, and I have a lot of people I like a lot. And, you know, I'm very loyal. I'm loyal to the people that I like, and we have a lot of good people," he said.

"I have a lot of people that I'm not a fan of necessarily, but I think they're right on a lot of issues. I go with them all the time. I go with those issues all the time. I want to just do what's right for the country,” Trump concluded. 

From the Gridiron to the Oval Office

After announcing Trump would appear on the show, Pate faced backlash from fans who wanted to keep the focus on college football. He assured viewers that “those expecting political discussion will be sorely disappointed.” But about three-and-a-half minutes into the interview, the conversation pivoted into politics.

Pate first referenced Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti, noting that Cignetti had assembled a staff capable of winning a national championship. That observation quickly morphed into a question about Trump’s own hiring philosophy at the White House.

“You’re a guy, you’ve hired thousands of people in the business world,” Pate said. “You’ve vetted people for cabinet positions, but you’ve sat across from them like we’re doing right now, right? What do you look for in someone to know, that’s the characteristic I want, that’s a guy, or that’s a girl I want on my team?”

"I have, you know, really good people working for me," Trump said. "I would say first term, I had never done it before. I won. You know, I came out of business. I was in Washington 17 times in my entire life. I never stayed over. And I had some very good people, but I had some people that I wouldn't have chosen had I had a little more experience. Once I got all that experience, we now have an unbelievable cabinet. And you know, experience really helps. You see people under fire when you go in there, and you don't have that feel. Not good. But there's a great deal of experience. I think there's also an instinct. I've had a good instinct for people," he added.

Pate then leaned further into the presidential lane.

“You mentioned experience. I mean, not many people get to be the President of the United States. Not many people, even further down the line, get to do it twice. And so you kind of got to experience and then reassess, go in there a second time. What are the things when people ask you, ‘Hey, what’d you learn the first time that you applied the second time?’ What are the go-tos for you?”

Trump circled back to staffing.

“Well, it's about people, you know. You have to get the right people,” he explained. “If you don't get the right people, you can be really good, but it's never going to be the same. It's never going to be fantastic the way they run it. You know, you can see all the good people they have working here. They've been here a long time. I mean, they're so outstanding. They're stars. And I learned that in the first term, and again I had a lot of great people, but I had some that I wouldn't have used again. It's been amazing.”