It's essential for a president to show strength from the very beginning, to make it very clear what is acceptable and not acceptable.

I think when people accuse you of a crime, you have every reason to go after them pretty hard.

It's opportunity. It's opportunity, not a check from government - it's opportunity that has always driven America and defined us as Americans.

Let's take energy, for instance. I understand that in some industries, the input cost of energy is a major factor in whether an industry is going to locate in the United States or go elsewhere. So, when, at Bain Capital, we started a new steel company called Steel Dynamics in Indiana, the cost of energy was a very important factor to the success of that enterprise.

We still believe in the America that is a land of opportunity and a beacon of freedom. We believe in the America that challenges each of us to be better and bigger than ourselves.

I don't want to be like Europe. I want to be like America.

I like being able to fire people.