Former President Donald Trump revealed a number of key cabinet members he regrets choosing for his administration in retrospect, calling some "weak and pathetic" and others "incompetent" during an exclusive interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday.
"Is there anything that you could look back on in '16 that you think maybe you want to do differently this time around?" Bartiromo asked.
"The mistake would be people. I mean, I wouldn't have put a guy like Bill Barr. He was weak and pathetic," Trump responded.
TRUMP DESCRIBES HOW HE COULD SOLVE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT IN 24 HOURS
"I wouldn't have put Jeff Sessions, and there are some people that I wouldn't have put in. You know, most people were good, but I had some people we had [Dr. Mark] Esper. I didn't like him. He was incompetent. I thought we had other people I didn't like."
"Why did you put them in the job, then?" Bartiromo followed.
"Because every president puts somebody in and you think they're good [at first]," he answered in part.
Trump has been at odds with several of his former cabinet members, including Barr, who warned of a "horror show" to come if the 2024 hopeful were to assume office again.
"He will deliver chaos, and if anything lead to a backlash that will set his policies much further back than they otherwise would be," Barr said, arguing that Trump is the worst person to fulfill his pledged policies.
TRUMP SPARS WITH ESPER OVER CLAIMS THAT THE FORMER PRESIDENT WANTED TO SHOOT PROTESTERS
Esper, who served as defense secretary for the Trump administration from 2019 to 2020, branded the former president as a threat to democracy and national security and, at times, sparred with him over claims that Trump asked if protesters could be shot outside the White House as unrest unfolded in the streets following George Floyd's death in 2020.
Trump, later defending himself against the claim, labeled it a "complete lie" in a statement to "60 Minutes," adding that ten witnesses would back him up.
Sessions also blasted Trump's "juvenile insults" against him after he resigned as the former president's attorney general, saying his "honor and integrity" were more important.
2024 WATCH: IT'S TRUMP'S RACE TO LOSE 6 MONTHS AHEAD OF THE FIRST GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY
Speaking to Bartiromo during their "Sunday Morning Futures" exclusive, Trump said despite his wishes to select some cabinet members differently, most criticism for the decisions he made while running in 2016 were that he should adopt a "softer" approach.
"I was under siege by people that were very dishonest," he said, pushing back against the notion. "If I was soft, I wouldn't be talking to you right now, believe me. I wouldn't have been able to finish out one of the most successful terms as president to a point where it was so successful that I'm leading by 50 points right now. I mean, that wouldn't have happened."
White sitting down with the "Sunday Morning Futures" anchor, he discussed a number of other pressing issues such as bureaucratic corruption, the ever-growing field of GOP candidates, whether he will appear on the GOP primary debate stage in the coming weeks and the state of Biden's economy.
Fox News' Brianna Herlihy and Paul Best contributed to this report.
