Speaking with Don Lemon live on CNN on Friday night, Trump lauded his winning performance in reader polls asking who won the debate, particularly the poll run by Drudge Report.

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“I’m not saying I won, I’m just telling you polls that came out from Drudge,” he said. “What’s better than Drudge? He’s a fantastic guy. What he’s built is unbelievably respected.”

The Drudge Report poll asked readers who won the debate. Trump led with 45 percent of the vote. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) came in second with 14 percent, and no other candidate had more than 11 percent support.

Trump also cited coverage by Time Magazine, the New York Times and the Washington Post that he said showed him as the victor.

In contrast, the businessman panned a focus group run by pollster Frank Luntz immediately after the debate on Fox News.

Trump said Luntz “kept calling” him, trying to convince the candidate to do business with Luntz.

“I told him no. And now every time I see a poll, it’s negative,” he said. “The guy’s a lightweight.”

Elsewhere in the CNN interview, Trump again ripped debate moderator and Fox News host Megyn Kelly, calling her “highly overrated.”

"She gets out and starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions,” Trump told Lemon. "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her — wherever.”