President-elect Trump said Republican leaders "love him" now that he's headed for the White House, despite all of their criticism about him during the election.

"Right now, they're in love with me," the incoming president told a group of New York Times reporters and editorial board members at a meeting on Tuesday.

Trump was commended by House Speaker Paul Ryan for leading Republicans to a historic victory earlier this month, and he's received congratulatory phone calls from several GOP lawmakers and statesmen who were especially critical of him during his campaign.

Still, some Republicans were quick to question his appointment of outgoing Breitbart chief executive Steve Bannon to a senior White House role in early November.

The president-elect also said he "easily" defeated Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and helped a number of GOP senators secure re-election victories along the way.

He singled out New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a critic of his who lost her re-election bid, saying she would "love a job in the administration." But Trump said he told Ayotte, "no thank you" on the idea of giving her a Cabinet post.