But the billionaire tycoon, who attended a fundraiser for veterans instead of taking part in the debate with other GOP candidates, has insisted he would make the same decision again.
He said: "(he) would never, ever give that up to go between first and second in Iowa".
Mr Trump, 69, pulled out of the debate last week claiming he had been treated unfairly by host Fox News amid a months-long feud with anchor and debate moderator Megyn Kelly.
In an apparent slight on his Iowa's state director Chuck Laudner, Mr Trump admitted he did not have a great ground campaign in Iowa after months of touting his operation in the state.
Speaking to Fox News' Sean Hannity, he said his campaign "didn't have much of a ground game because I didn't think I was going to be winning".
He added: "In retrospect, we could have done much better with the ground game."
Mr Laudner has said last month he felt "fantastic about the ground game" in Iowa.
Mr Trump conceded defeat to Texas Senator Ted Cruz in Iowa's presidential nominating contest on Tuesday.
Mr Cruz won 27.7%, with Mr Trump trailing on 24.3% and Florida Senator Marco Rubioin third place with 23.1%.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton managed a razor-thin victory over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
Mr Trump has predicted he will win over voters in New Hampshire from Mr Sanders and expects to do better than his second-place Iowa finish. He has a substantial lead in polls in the state.
Candidates from both parties travelled to New Hampshire on Tuesday ahead of the second primary on Tuesday next week.
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