In an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show yesterday, the billionaire businessman looked relaxed as Kimmel queried him about campaign issues.
Trump, who has argued for temporarily banning Muslims from entering the United States, said he's gotten calls of thanks from friends who are Muslim.
"Those may have been crank calls," Kimmel replied, smiling.
The appearance came a day after Trump clashed with rival Jeb Bush in a Republican debate, with the son and brother of former presidents calling the real estate mogul a "chaos candidate."
The Republican nominee is likely to face Hillary Rodham Clinton, the clear favorite for the Democratic nomination. Primary voting begins in February.
The ABC host then turned to immigration, using the example of his on-air sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez, to question Trump's call for mass deportation.
Kimmel said Rodriguez came to the United States illegally from Mexico but went through the legalisation process. He suggested to Trump that people who are willing to risk everything to get to the United States are good for the country.
Kimmel said it appeared Trump had made an effort to be nicer to his fellow candidates in the debate, including lauding Sen. Ted Cruz's temperament after previously calling him a something of a "maniac."
"I would like to see the Republican party come together, and I've been a little bit divisive in the sense of hitting people hard," Trump replied.
That didn't stop him from repeating his characterisation of Jeb Bush as low-energy, although he added he was a "nice person."
Kimmel ended the interview by sharing a mock children's book, in the style of Dr Seuss, which he said he'd ghost-written for Trump.
"Here are some frogs I do not like at all. We must kick these frogs out and then build a wall," Kimmel read from one page.
