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LONDONDERRY, N.H. — There have been several indications recently that Donald J. Trump is trying to temper his language and tone in the final days before the New Hampshire primary. One came Monday morning, when Mr. Trump insisted he had never called Senator John McCain, the self-described maverick who won the state’s primary twice, a “loser.”

In an interview on CBS News, Mr. Trump was shown a clip of Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida who has been praised by political observers for his exchange with Mr. Trump at the debate on Saturday night. On the campaign trail on Sunday, Mr. Bush praised Mr. McCain and denounced Mr. Trump for calling the Arizona senator a loser.

“Donald Trump, you’re the loser!” Mr. Bush said.

Asked to respond, Mr. Trump said, “Well, it just shows you how they lie. Number one, I never called John McCain a loser, as you know. I like John McCain, I supported John McCain. I said he was a hero because he got caught, which is true, to a certain extent.”

He added, ” I didn’t call him a loser, so he’s — you know, he’s lied when he made that up.”

Later, he emphasized, “I never made a comment about him, and I never said that about John McCain.”

Mr. Trump did in fact call Mr. McCain a loser, in reference to his loss to Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential race.

“I don’t like losers,” Mr. Trump said at the Iowa Family Leadership meeting in July 2015. At the same event, when asked about Mr. McCain, who was described by the questioner as a “war hero,” Mr. Trump responded, “He’s not a war hero.”

He went on: “He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, O.K.?”