TRENTON -- A week after sparking controversy by initially declining to denounce the support of former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke during a television interview, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump emphasized that he doesn't want the backing of any hate group.

"I don't like any group of hate," the billionaire businessman and former Atlantic City casino mogul said during an interview that aired Sunday morning on CBS's "Face the Nation." "Hate groups are not for me."

"The press hates me to say it," Trump added. "They just don't want me to say it."

Duke, maybe the nation's most famous white supremacist, told listeners on his radio show last month that voting for anyone other than Trump is "really treason to your heritage."

The Anti-Defamation Leagues then called on Trump to reject Duke's support.

Last Sunday, when Trump appeared on CNN's "State of the Union," host Jake Tapper asked the real estate magnate about Duke's backing.

"Just so you understand: I don't know anything about David Duke, OK?" Trump said. "I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists."

Trump took to Twitter after the interview last Sunday to say he disavowed Duke at a news conference earlier that week. He later blamed a "lousy earpiece" that he was wearing during the interview for not begin able to fully hear Tapper's questions. And he has disavowed Duke a number of times since then.

"How many times do I have to reject?" Trump told "Face the Nation" host John Dickerson on Sunday. "I've rejected the KKL, the Ku Klux Klan. From the time I'm 5 years old, I rejected them. I don't want them. I don't want him to say it. If he says it, he says it. Do I want it? No."

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who endorsed Trump last month, defended the businessman against accusations of racism at a news conference last week.

"I know Donald Trump, and he's not a bigot," Christie said.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.