text: Columbia, South Carolina (CNN) Donald Trump acknowledged Thursday that he "could have" signaled support for invading Iraq during a 2002 interview with Howard Stern. 
   
   "It was probably the first time I was asked that question," the GOP presidential front-runner told CNN's Anderson Cooper during a South Carolina town hall. "By the time the war started, I was against the war." 
   
   He also noted he "wasn't a politician" at the time of the interview. 
   
   Ahead of Saturday's South Carolina Republican primary, Trump has repeatedly blasted former President George W. Bush for launching the war. 
   
   But Buzzfeed posted Thursday Trump's interview with Stern, given on the first anniversary following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. When asked whether he would support an invasion, Trump responded: "Yeah, I guess so." 
   
   "You know, I wish the first time it was done correctly," he added in the interview. 
   
   Trump's criticism of the war could be a risky move in this military-dominated state. One man in the audience confronted Trump for saying that Bush had lied about the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. 
   
   "I would probably say that something was going on," Trump said. "I don't know why he went in" to Iraq. 
   
   Trump vs. Pope Francis 
   
   Trump called Pope Francis a "wonderful guy" after the pontiff said Thursday the candidate is "not Christian" if he wants to deport undocumented immigrants and build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. 
   
   "I don't think this is a fight," Trump said. "I think he said something much softer than was originally reported by the media." 
   
   Trump added he would meet with the Pope "anytime he wants." 
   
   JUST WATCHED Donald Trump rips Pope Francis: I'm a Christian Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Donald Trump rips Pope Francis: I'm a Christian 00:53 
   
   Earlier at the town hall, Jeb Bush and John Kasich refused to be drawn into the debate between Trump and the Pope. 
   
   Kasich simply said he was "pro-Pope." 
   
   "This man has brought more sense of hope and more about the do's in life than the don'ts," Kasich said, referring to the Pope. "This guy has been so humble." 
   
   Bush, who is a devout Catholic, didn't criticize the Pope's comments. But he said he personally wouldn't "question people's Christianity." 
   
   "I think that's a relationship they have with their Lord and savior and themselves. So I just don't think it's appropriate to question Donald Trump's faith," Bush said. "He knows what his faith is." 
   
   Dominating South Carolina 
   
   Trump, who is dominating most South Carolina polls, continued to pound his closest competitor: Ted Cruz. 
   
   The billionaire businessman said the Texas senator "has a problem with the truth." 
   
   Trump appeared to side with Marco Rubio after the Florida senator's campaign accused Cruz's team earlier Thursday of photoshopping an image to make it appear as though Rubio is shaking hands with President Barack Obama. 
   
   "Oh, it was totally photoshopped," Trump said. 
   
   "They even made Marco a lot shorter than he is," Trump said, adding that this was "probably the thing that bothered him the most." 
   
   He quipped that other tactics the Cruz campaign has used in this election were "disgusting." 
   
   Trump has confounded many political observers with his propensity for colorful, unfiltered and inflammatory language as a candidate. When Cooper asked whether he would take on a different tone as president, Trump suggested he could easily switch back and forth between being politically correct -- and not. 
   
   "I can be more politically correct than anybody you've ever interviewed," Trump said. 
   
   He added: "I can do whatever I want. ...I deal with society. Society loves me." 
   
   Trump also shed light on his habits on the road, including his propensity to consume fast food from big chains like McDonald's and Burger King. 
   
   "I'm a very clean person. I like cleanliness," he said. "And I think you're better off going there than maybe some place where you have no idea where the food is coming from." 
   
   He said he recently ate Kentucky Fried Chicken. His verdict: "Not the worst thing in the world." 
   
   John Kasich 
   
   Kasich opened the CNN event by reflecting on a campaign trail moment that's quickly gone viral. At a forum in Clemson earlier in the day, a tearful young man confessed to Kasich that after suffering personal losses, he had gone through a very dark period in life. Now, he had found hope in the message that Kasich was taking to voters, he said, prompting the governor to hug the man. 
   
   "There are a lot of people out there who are lonely," Kasich told Cooper. "Could you believe that young man?" 
   
   He expressed frustration with the frenetic pace of presidential politics and noted how important it is to "slow down" and listen to people in need. 
   
   JUST WATCHED Kasich: Be present for others' wins and losses Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Kasich: Be present for others' wins and losses 01:36 
   
   "We've got to slow down," Kasich told Cooper. "You've got to celebrate other people's wins, and sometimes you've got to sit with them and cry." 
   
   Kasich is coming off a strong second-place showing in New Hampshire last week, but with his moderate message, there is little expectation that he will have a strong performance here during Saturday's GOP primary. 
   
   When one woman in the audience asked whether he would consider appointing any of his fellow White House hopefuls to his Cabinet, Kasich lightheartedly reminded her that it was much too early in the race. 
   
   "Well, look. I'm not going to be measuring like, the drapes. I've got a long way to go. We're really, really early," Kasich said. 
   
   He did, however, call one former candidate a "terrific guy" whom he would consider appointing to his administration: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. 
   
   "I like him very much," Kasich said, before saying about the rest of the field: "They all deserve an awful lot of respect. I don't want to fight with them." 
   
   JUST WATCHED Kasich: Losing parents to drunk driver changed my life Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Kasich: Losing parents to drunk driver changed my life 01:05 
   
   At the conclusion of his time at the CNN event, Kasich opened up about how losing his parents in a car accident forever shaped his outlook on life. 
   
   "They were at the Burger King because they got the second cup of coffee for free. That's the way the mailman and Mrs. Kasich lived," Kasich said about the day his parents died. "I went into a black hole." 
   
   He soon found God, Kasich said, though "the pain still comes." 
   
   "As a result of my parents' accident, it's allowed me to hug that boy," he added. 
   
   Jeb Bush 
   
   Bush shrugged off South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's decision this week to endorse Rubio. 
   
   "I'm marking her down as neutral," Bush quipped. 
   
   Pressed by Cooper on how he can still convince voters here that he has momentum, Bush insisted that the momentum is there. 
   
   "I do have momentum if you look at the polls and if you look at the crowd sizes of our town hall meetings," Bush said. He pointed to the endorsement he won from South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham as a sign of his readiness to be president. 
   
   JUST WATCHED Jeb Bush: Embed U.S. troops to stop ISIS Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Jeb Bush: Embed U.S. troops to stop ISIS 01:38 
   
   "He could have supported two of his colleagues, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio," Bush said. "He chose me because he believes that I would be ready to serve on day one as commander in chief and as leader of the free world." 
   
   A University of South Carolina student told Bush that it seemed to him marijuana was one of the most frequently used drugs on campus, and asked the ex-governor for his stance on legalization. 
   
   Bush said he took issue with the term "recreational drug." 
   
   "The terminology is probably a little misleading," Bush said, "because of the potency of this generation of marijuana. It has major impacts -- neurological impacts." 
   
   He briefly mentioned his daughter's struggles with addiction, and said he believes the government should "focus a little bit more on treatment and a little less on punishment" of individuals convicted on drug-related charges. 
   
   One of the more personally revealing moments for Bush came when a questioner asked him to describe how his wife, Columba, has shaped him as a leader. Bush turned to his wife, who was sitting in the audience next to former first lady Barbara Bush, and said, "Sweetie, this is going to be your anniversary present." 
   
   He recalled meeting his wife as a young man in Mexico. 
   
   "Five o'clock. I can remember exactly where I was on the town square. I can remember exactly what she looked like to this day," Bush said. 
   
   The experience of falling for Columba -- "the most beautiful girl I had ever met in my life" -- Bush said, was like being hit with a "lightning bolt." ||||| "We still don't know what Iraq is up to or whether it has the material to build nuclear weapons. I'm no warmonger," Trump wrote. "But the fact is, if we decide a strike against Iraq is necessary, it is madness not to carry the mission to its conclusion. When we don't, we have the worst of all worlds: Iraq remains a threat, and now has more incentive than ever to attack us." 
   
   Trump's comments on Stern are more in line with what he wrote in his 2000 book, The America We Deserve , where he advocated for a "principled and tough" policy toward "outlaw" states like Iraq. 
   
   "Well, I did it in 2003, I said it before that," Trump said of his opposition to invading Iraq. "Don't forget, I wasn't a politician. So people didn't write everything I said. I was a businessperson. I was, as they say, a world-class businessperson. I built a great company, I employed thousands of people. So I'm not a politician. But if you look at 2003, there are articles. If you look in 2004, there are articles." 
   
   Trump has repeatedly claimed that he was against the Iraq War before it began, despite no evidence of him publicly stating this position. On Meet the Press , Trump said there weren't many articles about his opposition because he wasn't a politician at the time. 
   
   For months, Donald Trump has claimed that he opposed the Iraq War before the invasion began — as an example of his great judgment on foreign policy issues. 
   
   Trump added, "When you're in the private sector, you get asked things, and you're not a politician, and probably the first time I was asked. By the time the war started, I was against it, and shortly thereafter, I was really against." 
   
   "I could have said that," Trump said. "Nobody asked me that. I wasn't a politician. It was probably the first time anyone has asked me that question." 
   
   At the Feb. 6 debate in New Hampshire, Trump said, "I'm the only one up here, when the war of Iraq -- in Iraq, I was the one that said, 'Don't go, don't do it, you're going to destabilize the Middle East.'" 
   
   Here is what Trump has said in the past about his opposition to the Iraq invasion: 
   
   In another interview with Neil Cavuto in January of 2003, a transcript of which was obtained by BuzzFeed News, Trump given the opportunity to comment on the war did not say he opposed it but stated "it`s sort like either do it or don`t do it." 
   
   CAVUTO: If you had to sort of breakdown for the president, if yo u were advising him, how much time do you commit to Iraq versus how much time you commit to the economy, what would you say? 
   
   TRUMP: Well, I`m starting to think that people are much more focused now on the economy. They are getting a little bit tired of hearing, we`re going in, we`re not going in, the - you know, whatever happened to the days of the Douglas MacArthur. He would go and attack. He wouldn't talk. We have to - you know, it`s sort like either do it or don`t do it. When I watch Dan Rather explaining how we are going to be attacking, where we`re going to attack, what routes we`re taking, what kind of planes we`re using, how to stop them, how to stop us, it is a little bit disconcerting. I`ve never seen this, where newscasters are telling you how - telling the enemy how we`re going about it, we have just found out this and that. It is ridiculous. 
   
   CAVUTO: Well, the problem right there. 
   
   TRUMP: Either you attack or you don`t attack. 
   
   CAVUTO: The problem there, Donald, is you`re watching Dan Rather. Maybe you should just be watching Fox. 
   
   TRUMP: Well, no, I watch Dan Rather, but not necessarily fondly. But I happened to see it the other night. And I must tell you it was rather amazing as they were explaining the different - I don`t know if it is fact or if it is fiction, but the concept of a newscaster talking about ­the routes is - just seems ridiculous. So the point is either you do it or you don`t do it, or you - but I just - or if you don`t do it, just don`t talk about it. When you do it, you start talking about it. 
   
   CAVUTO: So you`re saying the leash on this is getting kind of short here, that the president has got to do something presumably sooner rather than later and stringing this along could ultimately hurt us. 
   
   TRUMP: Well, he has either got to do something or not do something, perhaps, because perhaps shouldn't be doing it yet and perhaps we should be waiting for the United Nations, you know. He`s under a lot of pressure. He`s - I think he`s doing a very good job. But, of course, if you look at the polls, a lot of people are getting a little tired. I think the Iraqi situation is a problem. And I think the economy is a much bigger problem as far as the president is concerned. 
   
   CAVUTO: Are you still bullish on the markets or you have your doubts now? 
   
   TRUMP: Well, I think you have to see what is going to happen with Iraq. I think you have to see what is going to happen with North Korea. I happen to think North Korea may be a bigger problem than Iraq. But you have to see what is going to happen with North Korea. And a lot of things up in the air. You have a lot of balls up in the air right now. And on top of that you have a lousy economy.
target: – Donald Trump is softening his rhetoric on Pope Francis after blasting the leader of the Catholic Church for suggesting the billionaire businessman's plan to build a wall along the US-Mexico border made him "not Christian." Trump said during a town hall event on CNN that he now believes the pope's remarks were "probably a little bit nicer" than first reported. Trump said he believes the pope has only heard one side of the story, as told by the Mexican government, and isn't aware of the problems Trump claims are caused by a porous border. Trump also said he has great respect for Pope Francis. Still, he couldn't help but offer a dig, noting that, "He's got an awfully big wall at the Vatican." During the University of South Carolina town hall, Trump, who has long claimed to have opposed the invasion of Iraq, was also asked about BuzzFeed's unearthing of a 2002 interview in which Howard Stern asked him whether he supported the invasion. "Yeah, I guess so," he responded at the time, according to the audio. "I wish the first time in was done correctly." At the town hall, he told Anderson Cooper he didn't remember the conversation, but he said, "I mean, I could have said that. ... It was probably the first time anybody asked me that question," adding that his opposition was early, "even if it was a little bit after the war." More from the town hall: Trump said that if he's elected to the White House, he plans to send cease-and-desist letters or similar threats to countries he believes are giving the US raw deals. He said he would send letters "to China to stop ripping us off. I would be sending them to other countries to stop ripping us off. I'd send them to Mexico." John Kasich described how his life had been shaped by the day his parents were killed by a drunk driver. "They were at the Burger King because they got the second cup of coffee for free. That's the way the mailman and Mrs. Kasich lived," he said. "I went into a black hole" after they died in 1987, he added, but he recovered and soon found God. Jeb Bush insisted that he still has momentum "if you look at the polls and if you look at the crowd sizes of our town hall meetings," and he said the endorsement from Sen. Lindsey Graham signals that he's ready to serve from Day 1 as "commander in chief and as leader of the free world."