SIMI VALLEY, Calif. -- The second Republican presidential debate is taking place tonight at the Ronald Reagan Library.

Once again frontrunner Donald Trump will take center stage, prepared for a fight.

CBN's David Brody talked one-on-one with Trump in California as he was gearing up for the face-off.

It's probably appropriate that CBN News joined Trump for a ride in California at his golf course as it seems the rest of the country has been along for Trump's wild ride, too.

Get more inside scoop on Trump from Beltway Buzz here.

His rise to the top has been part showman, part politician, and a whole lot of boldness.

"Did you really expect Trump mania, if you will, The Trump Show if you will? Did you really expect this to be what it is today?" Brody asked Trump.

"Well you know I always expect to win," Trump said. "I want to win and I've always had a nice habit of winning. But, frankly I never thought I'd be going and surging so far ahead of everybody. I never thought that it would happen this quickly."

While his blunt style has been a hit with potential voters, his Republican opponents say they've had enough of his put downs.

"People can have clear differences of opinions, but you don't have to trash talk to do it," GOP presidential candidate Scott Walker said.

But that's not Trump's take. Whether it's jabbing fellow candidate Jeb Bush for his low energy or commenting on Carly Fiorina's facial appearance, he doesn't hold back.

In our interview, however, he seemed ready to dial it back and divulged a weakness, a rare admission from the brash billionaire.

"Obviously we all have weaknesses. But is there something that you know what (you) could kind of be better on that? Is there something that you think about on that?" Brody asked.

"Well it's a tough question because you hate to say what your weaknesses are. But I think I could tone it down a little bit when pressed," Trump said.

"When somebody hits you can (I) hit a little less hard at the same time? That may be the kind of thing the country needs because we have to hit back hard to fight hard because we're not going to have a country," he said. "But I will try to tone it down."

One matchup to watch is how Trump handles rival candidate Ben Carson. The doctor is running a close second and rivaling Trump's lead with a key demographic.

"I'm leading with the evangelicals big league," Trump said at his campaign rally in Dallas.

Recently, both candidates have questioned the other's faith. It's uncertain if that will make an impact, but Carson is a known commodity in evangelical circles. Trump isn't.

While calling the Bible his number one book, Trump refused to reveal his favorite Bible verse a few weeks ago. He did talk scripture with us.

"There's so many things that you can learn from it. Proverbs, the chapter 'never bend to envy.' I've had that thing all of my life where you're -- people are bending to envy," Trump said. "And they're just -- actually it's an incredible book so many things you can learn from the Bible."

He may also have to navigate other tough questions from the faithful.

"The word on the evangelical street is there are evangelicals who are really interested in voting for you, but they want you to tone down the insults a little bit. They think that they can get there to vote for you if you could tone it down a little. Do you see that criticism at all?" Brody asked.

"I do and I can understand it a 100 percent. But you know I am a certain type of person," Trump said.

"I can understand the evangelicals to a certain extent saying, 'Well, maybe he's not as nice as we want him to be.' But they also want to see the country be great," he continued.

"There are some that I think will come over because I think they say, 'Well, he may not be perfect but he is one of us and he's going to do a great job for the country, and ultimately, you do need that," he said.

As for the rest of the field, Fiorina has made it to the main stage hoping to build on her momentum from the first debate. Walker needs to rebound from a subdued performance and dropping poll numbers, and Bush is expected to go on the offensive.

Whatever happens, we know this: candidates want to stay afloat during this "Summer of Trump" that's quickly changing seasons.

