But The Donald insists he was against the war well before it happened

Donald Trump admitted he could have supported the Iraq War in 2002, but changed his mind well before troops went in.

The GOP presidential hopeful was questioned on comments he made during a radio interview with Howard Stern 14 years ago at a CNN town hall event in South Carolina.

The billionaire is ahead in the polls in the military-strong state heading into the primary on Saturday.

'It was probably the first time I was asked that question,' the Republican front-runner told Anderson Cooper.

'By the time the war started, I was against the war. I was really against it.'

 When Stern asked the mogul where he supported the controversial conflict during the, a recording of which surfaced this week, Trump said: 'Yeah, I guess so.'

He then told the radio personality: 'You know, I wish the first time it was done correctly.'

Trump tried to assure the audience at the pre-election event with his response, insisting he wasn't a politician at the time.

During his campaign, the businessman has cited his opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq as evidence of his foreign policy credentials.

But his criticism of former Republican President George W. Bush's actions has aggravated some in his party, including in South Carolina, which holds its Republican primary on Saturday.

Trump's comments on Thursday came after a participant at the CNN event said he was 'stung' when the real estate mogul in a recent Republican debate accused Bush of lying about the reasons to go to war.

He was referring to allegations, later proven false, that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

Trump walked back that criticism, saying the reasons for going to war were unclear. But he said the invasion was not justified and contributed to the destabilization of the Middle East.

'Going into Iraq, it may have been the worst decision anybody has made, any president has made, in the history of this country. That's how bad it is,' Trump said.

During a Republican debate earlier this month, Trump said: 'I'm the only one on this stage that said: 'Do not go into Iraq. Do not attack Iraq.' Nobody else on this stage said that. And I said it loud and strong'.'

However no record has been established that Trump issued a call against the March 2003 invasion of Iraq before it happened.

In his few unearthed comments before the invasion, he said the economy was a bigger problem than Iraq.

In the first week after the invasion, he told The Washington Post at a post-Oscars party that 'the war's a mess' and, 'If they keep fighting it the way they did today, they're going to have a real problem.'

In another venue, he predicted stock market gains. He praised then-President George W. Bush before and after the war started. It was not until 2004 that he took a 'loud and clear' line, asserting 'all of the reasons for the war were blatantly wrong.'

However he was right in saying no weapons of mass destruction had been found.

Trump backed up his change of stance on Meet The Press.

According to BuzzFeed he said: 'Well, I did it in 2003, I said it before that. 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.'

On Thursday, Trump was involved in a war of words with the Pope.

He told Cooper Pope Francis a 'wonderful guy', even though 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