Albuquerque, New Mexico (CNN) Donald Trump on Tuesday defended comments he made two years before the housing market crashed -- in which he said he hoped the real estate market would collapse -- insisting he was simply a businessman eyeing an opportunity.

Trump's response to the controversial comments came after likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and her campaign repeatedly attacked the New York billionaire over the remarks in recent days, including through an online video that accused him of rooting for the 2008 financial crisis.

"Yeah, if it goes down I'm gonna buy ... I'm a businessman, that's what I'm supposed to do," Trump said. "If it goes down, it goes down. I feel badly for everybody. What am I going to do? It's business!"

Knocking the former secretary of state as a "low-life," the presumptive Republican nominee suggested Clinton was attacking him for wanting to buy housing "at a low point."

"'And he wanted to buy housing when it was low,'" Trump said, impersonating Clinton.

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