Trump has led in both recent polls in early states and nationwide, results that will earn him a spot in next week's first Republican presidential debate in Ohio.
Asked by CNN's Don Lemon aired Tuesday night if he was practicing or otherwise prepping for the upcoming event, Trump said, "I am what I am. I am what I am."
He blasted both former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for what he said is an over reliance on the advice of pollsters to gauge the political winds, rather than speak their minds.
"I have a lot of money - much more money than all of them put together, and all of their phony contributions put together - but you have to understand, I want to be me," Trump said. "You can't rely on pollsters every time there's a question."
