MATT LAUER (CO-HOST): I mentioned [Corey Lewandowski is] the guy who really believed in let Trump be Trump, let him go out there and speak his mind, and that got you a lot of success during the primaries. Does this signal, with him out, that you're not going to do the let Trump be Trump any more? That you're going to change your tone for the general election? 

DONALD TRUMP: I don't think so, Matt. I think I have to be who I am. I don't want to be a phony like a Hillary Clinton where she reads stuff that's written up by high-priced talent. I don't want to be that, I want to be what I am. And new polls just came out and I'm right there. I'm right -- with the horrible few weeks I had from the press. The press is treating me unbelievably unfairly, and with all of that bad press I've had over the last couple of weeks, and it's -- believe me, that's manufactured press, 100 percent. I've had days where there should have been good deals and good days, and the press comes out negatively. With all of the press, I'm right there in the polls. CNN just announced a poll. I'm right there. Pennsylvania, Ohio, we're practically even.

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE (CO-HOST): We just mentioned those and they're dead heats. Ohio, in fact, is tied. But let's talk about another measure of the last month that you've had, and that is campaign fundraising. The FEC, these federal disclosure forms came out and show you with $1.3 million raised in -- on hand, excuse me, on hand, compared to $42 million in Hillary Clinton's war chest. Now, you understand money, the importance of money, it helps you mount a professional campaign, and it's a sign of whether people are supporting you. So how do you explain those lackluster results? 

TRUMP: OK, let me just tell you this, I understand money better than anybody. I understand it far better than Hillary, and I'm way up on the economy when it comes to questions on the economy. But, we have a party, I mean, I'm having more difficulty, frankly, with some of the people in the party than I am with the Democrats because they don't want to come on. They will probably eventually come on. Honestly, if they don't, it's just fine. I can win it it either way. I may be better winning it the opposite way than the more traditional way. 

GUTHRIE: Can you win it if she raises 42 times what you have?

TRUMP: But let me just say, Savannah, I've raised a lot of money. But, you also have to have some help from the party. But I've raised a lot of money. We raised $12 million this weekend. I was in Texas, I was in Arizona, I was in Las Vegas. We raised a lot of money this weekend. I made like four or five stops, and I'm raising that money for the party.

LAUER: Will you mention --

TRUMP: Matt, excuse me, if it gets to a point, what I'll do is just do what I did in the primaries. I spent $55 million of my own money to win the primaries. Fifty-five. Now, you know, that's a lot of money, by even any standard. I may do that again in the general election. 

LAUER: You just said you're having -- 

TRUMP: Excuse me, Matt. I have a lot of cash and I may do it again in the general election. But it would be nice to have some help from the party.

LAUER: Well, you just mentioned the party. So, Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House, after a lot of hemming and hawing, came out and said he would vote for you. Then on Sunday on Meet the Press, he sounded as if he was waffling a bit. He told delegates and the Republican Party that they should vote their conscience, which is not exactly saying, “get out there and vote for our nominee who will be Donald Trump.” You said famously a long time ago that he'll support you and if you don't have his support, he'll have problems. Does he have problems now? 

TRUMP: Paul, first of all he didn't say support me, he endorsed me. So did Mitch McConnell endorse me. With that being said, I'd like to see great support, and if I don't have great support, I'll go a different route. Look, everyone said you could never get to 1,237 delegates, and you know that better than anybody. They said, “you can't get to 1,237 delegates because there's 17 people in the race.” That’s the primary reason. I ended up at 1,570 approximately. 1,570, way above the 1,237 that people said you couldn't get.Now new polls just come out, and despite the fact that I'm being treated horribly, horribly by the press, I'm practically even with Hillary Clinton and she had the best two weeks of her life.

Previously:

Trump Suddenly Encounters Media Attention He Doesn't Want

“Chaos” And “Disaster”: Media Contextualize Lewandowski's Firing Amid Larger Trump Campaign Disarray

Right-Wing Media Attempt To Spin Trump's Firing Of Campaign Manager As A Positive