President Donald Trump, in his first major interview since his party lost control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, said he thinks his administration was too aggressive on deportations and that he thinks he can work with Democrats in the new Congress on some kind of immigration deal.
Trump said his deportation policy was part of the reason Republicans lost, telling CBS’s “60 Minutes” in an interview that aired on Sunday: “I think it might be too tough, yeah.”
He added that he thinks he could reach an agreement with the new Democratic majority. “The deal would be we would work something out. And I think it’s something -- I think that’s something that’s actually doable,” he said in the interview.
Trump did not give specifics about what that deal would look like — and shortly after taping the interview on Friday, Trump named the key architect of his hard-line immigration agenda, Stephen Miller, as his new chief of staff.
“Trump says his immigration crackdown went too far,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer scoffed on social media Sunday after the interview aired. “Apparently, his solution was to put the man responsible for it in charge of the White House. That’s not a course correction. That’s a promotion.”
The president's immigration crackdown was a prominent feature of his return to office with major operations in multiple cities sending arrests soaring. Two U.S. citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — were killed by federal officers during protests against the operations.
Democrats have said oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security is a priority for the new Congress.
Trump said he believes that “killers” and “drug dealers” in the country illegally should be deported, but suggested he was open to the idea of a deal that would let others stay “if they’re good people working in a landscaping company, or working in a hotel, or doing something, right? And in some cases, paying taxes.”
Trump says he may stay on the sidelines for the 2028 race
On the race among Republicans to succeed him for the 2028 presidential election, Trump hinted at staying neutral.
Asked whether he’d endorse a potential successor, the president said “probably, not necessarily.”
“We have a tremendous bench. I have so many people that I have great relationships with,” Trump said in the interview.
Asked about possible candidates other than Vice President JD Vance, Trump only named Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is viewed as a possible 2028 contender.
“I think Marco’s great,” Trump said. “But there are many others and I’d rather not mention their names. There’s some senators that are excellent. I know ’em all, I like ’em a lot.
“So I may or may not get involved. I don’t know. Maybe I’m better off not getting involved,” Trump said.
Trump brushes aside questions about becoming wealthier while in office
During the midterms, Democrats sought to make the president's personal wealth a campaign issue. About half of voters nationally said government corruption was "crucial" for their vote for Congress, according to the AP Voter Poll.
Asked how his net worth went up by $3 billion since returning to the White House, Trump said he doesn’t pay much attention to it and said his sons look after the family business.
“I devote almost no time to my net worth. I don’t care. I make — I have a lotta money, and far more than I ever thought I’d have. And I guess it’s gone up. I don’t even know,” he said.
Trump was asked whether he thinks people from foreign countries investing in the company he co-owns with his sons are trying to buy influence. “I don’t know. But that’s true — look, every president has a problem,” he said.
Trump, who survived an assassination attempt while campaigning for reelection in 2024 and has lashed out against his political foes, was asked whether he could forgive his enemies. He said it would be easy to say yes.
But he added: “I probably cannot do that, no, because I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will.”
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