President Donald Trump has acknowledged that his administration’s mass deportation campaign may have cost his party at the ballot box, telling CBS’s 60 Minutes that the enforcement push was “too tough” and that he is open to negotiating an immigration deal with the Democrats who will control Congress in January. In his first major interview since Republicans lost both the House and the Senate in last week’s midterms, the president said the crackdown was among the reasons his party suffered sweeping defeats.
- Key Point: Trump said his deportation policy “might be too tough” and that it “ultimately hurt” him with voters in the midterm elections.
- Key Point: He said he would “love to do something on immigration” with congressional Democrats and described a possible agreement as “actually doable.”
- Key Point: Days before the interview aired, Trump named Stephen Miller — the architect of the hardline deportation agenda — as White House chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles.
- Key Point: Exit polling cited in the interview’s aftermath found 58% of voters believe the administration’s immigration actions have gone too far.
A rare concession from the president
Speaking to correspondent Ross Douthat in a conversation recorded on Friday and broadcast on Sunday evening, Trump was asked directly whether his deportation agenda had gone too far. “I think it was too tough,” the president replied, adding: “And I think — I think ultimately, that hurt me.” He went on to acknowledge that public opinion is split, saying many Americans consider the enforcement drive commendable while others regard it as excessive.
Trump drew a distinction between removing serious offenders and sweeping up longtime residents with no criminal history beyond their immigration status. He awarded himself top marks for sealing the border and for “getting the bad ones out,” but said the political damage came from cases involving people who held jobs and had built lives in the country.
“I get hurt because we also took people that had good jobs, that created one violation, or breaking of the law, and that was that they came into the country illegally,” Trump said.
The president described immigrants working as cleaners, waitresses and landscapers, saying it is “tough” when such people are suddenly removed. He suggested that those who have lived in the country for a decade or more should be covered by a negotiated arrangement, and said people “have already called me” about a possible deal, without identifying them. Asked whether he could refrain from attacking Democrats for six months to reach an agreement, he said he could.
He also acknowledged that a segment of his own coalition, including some inside his administration, wants everyone in the country illegally removed, describing such figures as occupying the “pretty far right.”
Miller promotion complicates the message
The conciliatory tone was undercut almost immediately by the president’s own personnel decisions. On Friday, the same day the interview was taped, Trump announced that Stephen Miller — widely regarded as the driving force behind the deportation strategy — would take over as chief of staff, succeeding Susie Wiles. The promotion was confirmed at the start of the week.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer seized on the contrast, writing on social media that the president’s remedy for an overreach was to put the person responsible in charge of the White House. “That’s not a course correction. That’s a promotion,” he said.
The immigration crackdown has been a defining feature of Trump’s second term, with large-scale operations in multiple cities driving arrest figures to record highs. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was pushed to target 3,000 arrests a day, and a substantial share of those detained have no criminal record beyond immigration offenses. The administration has long insisted it prioritizes the most dangerous individuals while warning that anyone present illegally is subject to removal. Its tactics — citywide sweeps, vehicle stops, detention conditions and deportations to third countries — have drawn sustained scrutiny, and two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed by federal officers during protests against the operations.
Some Republicans have publicly warned of the political cost. Representative Maria Elvira Salazar of South Florida said in September that many Hispanic voters who backed Trump in 2024 “feel betrayed.” According to exit polling, 58% of voters nationally believe the administration’s immigration actions have gone too far, even though voters still trust Republicans slightly more than Democrats on handling the issue, 43% to 41%.
Democrats have signaled that oversight of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security will be a priority once they take control of Congress, and Miller is expected to be a central target of those investigations.
Bad messaging, business and a possible successor
Beyond immigration, the president offered his own explanation for the Republican rout, pointing to communication failures rather than policy. “I think it was bad messaging, maybe by me,” he said, complaining that positive coverage was not reaching voters and that he had to promote his record himself. Pressed on what the flawed message was, he said: “We couldn’t get the word across.” The White House has operated largely without a press secretary since late August, when Karoline Leavitt left; her replacement, Katie Zacharia, departed after five days.
Trump also brushed aside questions about his personal finances, after being asked how his net worth had risen by nearly $3 billion since his return to office. “I devote almost no time to my net worth. I don’t care,” he said, adding that his sons oversee the family business. Asked whether foreign investors in the cryptocurrency venture he co-owns with his sons might be seeking influence, he said he knew nothing about it.
On the fight to succeed him in 2028, the president suggested he might stay out of the primary. Asked whether he would endorse a candidate, he said “probably, not necessarily,” praising Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “great” while declining to name others. “I may or may not get involved,” he said.
He was also asked whether he could forgive his political enemies. He said it would be easy to answer yes, then added: “I probably cannot do that, no, because I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will.”
What comes next
Whether the president’s softer rhetoric translates into legislation is far from settled. He offered no specifics on what an immigration deal would contain, and the elevation of Miller to the chief of staff’s office signals that the enforcement machinery is unlikely to be dismantled. With Democrats set to take control of both chambers in January and promising aggressive oversight, the White House faces a choice between negotiating the kind of narrow arrangement Trump described and defending the crackdown that his own interview suggested had alienated voters. The answer will shape both the legislative agenda and the early contours of the 2028 race.