On Thursday Donald Trump shelved his guiding mantra “never back down, never apologize” and did what he has refused to do in public in more than a year of campaigning. He expressed regret.

The Republican nominee made the gesture at his first rally since he has been ordering a shakeup in his campaign to save his struggling White House bid. Trump told in a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, "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," .

Tump, reading from prepared remarks on Thursday night, acknowledged that he sometimes says "the wrong thing" in an astonishing act of contrition that signaled Trump's willingness to break from his characteristic brashness and bare-knuckles style that carried him to victory in the Republican primaries, but risks dooming him in the general election.

Trump told his supporters, “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. And believe it or not, I regret it. And I do regret it, particularly where it may have caused personal pain. Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues," He added, "But one thing I can promise you is this: I will always tell you the truth."

The real estate mogul did not say which of his numerous controversial statements he regretted, but his remarks came on the heels of many recent controversies that ranged from feuding with the parents of a slain Muslim-American soldier suggesting "Second Amendment people" could act to stop Hillary Clinton from appointing a liberal Supreme Court.

Trump's expression of regret also followed his decision earlier in this week to shake up his campaign leadership, installing a new campaign manager and bringing on a campaign CEO.

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By Prakriti Neogi