Donald Trump said he is going to shorten his speech when he introduces his running mate Mike Pence at the convention. | Getty Trump with Pence: 'The last time I got accused of speaking a little bit long'

Donald Trump offered a mea culpa, of sorts, on Wednesday for speaking too long during his vice presidential announcement speech last weekend for Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.

Arriving in Cleveland by Trump-branded helicopter for the third night of the Republican National Convention, the nominee reiterated that he would win the state of Ohio, which cast all 66 of its votes Tuesday for Gov. John Kasich.


"Come here, Mike," he said, gesturing to his running mate. "We're going to win Ohio. We're going to win it all. We're going to make America great again. That's what we want to do."

But, Trump continued, "the last time I got accused of speaking a little bit long, so this time we're going to speak a lot short [sic], but I just wanted to introduce a man who's become a friend of mine, somebody who's going to make an unbelievable vice president of the United States, Gov. Mike Pence."

Trump took roughly 30 minutes to introduce Pence as his vice presidential pick last Saturday in New York, while the governor spoke for only about 12 minutes himself.

"Let's hear it for the next president of the United States of America, Donald Trump!" Pence said to cheers and applause. "It is such an honor to join your family to welcome you to Cleveland. We're excited to hear your presentation tomorrow. ... It's been exciting to hear from your family, more to come tonight. And I'm convinced what begins in Cleveland will end in the White House! Thank you and God bless you and welcome to Cleveland."

But Trump was not done with his remarks on arrival, congratulating his children Donald Jr. and Tiffany on their speeches Tuesday night and noting that son Eric "is going to have his shot" later Wednesday night, and daughter Ivanka on Thursday night.

Absent from the proceedings was Melania Trump, although Pence's wife, Karen, joined the gathering.

"Karen, I just want to just say your whole family is an incredible family, and we love having you with us in this endeavor," Trump said. "And hopefully we're going to do an amazing job and an amazing job for the country most importantly. And kids, congratulations. Fantastic job. Thank you very much. ... Thank you everybody. We'll go and start working."