President Trump resurfaced a 2015 campaign controversy over his use of the term "rapists" to describe some immigrants from Mexico, saying Thursday he's been proven correct.

Trump, speaking in West Virginia, said countries were not sending "their good ones" to the U.S. and, as an aside, raised controversy over his remarks at a campaign kickoff event.

"Remember my opening remarks at Trump Tower when I opened? Everybody said, 'Oh, he's so tough'. I used the word rape," he recalled.

"And yesterday it came out, where this journey coming up, women are being raped at levels nobody's ever seen before. They don't want to mention that," he said.

Trump didn't cite a source.

Trump's remarks about Mexican rapists ignited the first of many controversies during his presidential campaign. Many critics said he was falsely accusing all Mexicans of being criminals.

In his June 2015 campaign kickoff speech, Trump said: "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. ... They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."