Trump Says His Immigration Crackdown Was “Too Tough” After Midterm Losses in First 60 Minutes Interview
President Donald Trump said his administration’s deportation policy “might be too tough” in his first television interview since Republicans lost control of Congress in the midterm elections on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, telling CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday that the crackdown cost his party votes even as he named its chief architect, Stephen Miller, as his new White House chief of staff.
The interview, recorded at the White House on Friday, 6 November and broadcast on Sunday, 8 November, was Trump’s first formal sit-down with a television host since the Democrats’ midterm sweep handed them both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Asked by correspondent Ross Douthat whether his deportation policy had gone too far, Trump answered: “I think it might be too tough, yeah.”
“It helped in some ways and hurt in others”
Trump said immigration enforcement had cut both ways for Republicans at the ballot box. “It helped in some ways and hurt in others,” he said, arguing he deserved high marks for sealing the border and removing violent offenders, but conceding the damage came from deporting people who had built lives in the United States.
“Where I took a hit was deporting people with good jobs for a single legal violation, just because they crossed illegally,” he said. He added that he got “an A+ for closing up the border” and “very high marks for getting the bad ones out, but I get hurt because we also took people that had good jobs.”
CBS News exit polling found that 58 per cent of voters nationwide believed the administration’s immigration actions had gone too far, a figure that helps explain why the issue that powered Trump’s return to office became a liability in the midterms.
A possible deal with the new Democratic Congress
Trump said he believed he could reach an immigration agreement with the incoming 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, though he gave no specifics about what such a deal would contain.
He drew a line that has not moved: people in the country illegally who are “killers” and “drug dealers” should be deported. But he suggested he was open to an arrangement 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.” The remarks, reported by Al Jazeera, stop well short of announcing any change in deportation rules, visa policy or work authorisation.
Democrats have said oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security will be a priority for the new Congress, after enforcement operations in multiple US cities sent arrests soaring and drew widespread protests. Two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed by federal officers during protests against the operations, according to the Associated Press.
Miller takes over as chief of staff
Hours after the interview was recorded on Friday, Trump announced that Stephen Miller as chief of staff would replace Susie Wiles, with Miller assuming the role on Monday, 9 November. Miller was the principal architect of the hardline immigration agenda Trump had just described as possibly too tough, and the timing drew an immediate response from Democrats.
“Trump says his immigration crackdown went too far,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer wrote on social media on Sunday. “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.”
US officials told CBS News that the Department of Homeland Security and ICE had received no instructions to reduce enforcement after the elections. Agency sources cited by the network said ICE officials had been instructed in recent weeks to aim for about 19,000 arrests a week, or roughly 2,700 a day, up from an earlier target of 2,000 a day.
The interview at a glance
| Detail | What happened |
|---|---|
| Recorded | Friday, 6 November 2026, at the White House |
| Aired | Sunday, 8 November 2026, on CBS’s 60 Minutes |
| Interviewer | Ross Douthat |
| Key admission | “I think it might be too tough, yeah” — on deportation policy |
| Chief of staff | Stephen Miller replaces Susie Wiles, starting Monday, 9 November |
| Exit polling | 58% of voters said the immigration crackdown went too far |
Blame beyond immigration
Trump did not put the midterm defeat down to immigration alone. He pointed to the war with Iran and rising fuel prices, telling 60 Minutes that voters “didn’t like the war” and “didn’t like the fact that gasoline went up because I had it down at a low.” He also pointed to hostility towards Israel as a factor, saying there was “a great dislike, incredibly, for Israel” among voters.
Administration officials offered a similar explanation, pointing to economic affordability and higher fuel prices rather than attributing the losses primarily to immigration enforcement. The results reflected voter dissatisfaction across immigration, the economy, the Iran war and rising living costs.
2028, wealth and forgiveness
On the race to succeed him in 2028, Trump hinted he may stay on the sidelines. Asked whether he would endorse a potential successor, he said “probably, not necessarily,” adding: “We have a tremendous bench. I have so many people that I have great relationships with.” Asked about candidates other than Vice President JD Vance, he named only Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “I think Marco’s great,” he said. “But there are many others and I’d rather not mention their names.”
Trump also brushed aside questions about his wealth. During the midterms, Democrats sought to make his personal fortune a campaign issue, and 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 had risen by $3 billion since returning to the White House, Trump said he did not pay much attention to it and that his sons look after the family business. “I devote almost no time to my net worth. I don’t care,” he said.
Asked whether he could forgive his enemies, after surviving an assassination attempt while campaigning for re-election in 2024, he said it would be easy to say yes — then added: “I probably cannot do that, no, because I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will.”
Frequently asked questions
When did Trump’s 60 Minutes interview air?
The interview was recorded at the White House on Friday, 6 November 2026, and aired on CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday, 8 November 2026. Ross Douthat conducted the interview.
What exactly did Trump say about his immigration policy?
Asked whether his deportation policy had gone too far, Trump said: “I think it might be too tough, yeah.” He said the crackdown “helped in some ways and hurt in others,” and that deporting people with good jobs for a single legal violation was where he “took a hit.”
Is Trump changing deportation policy?
No. His remarks do not amount to an announcement of any change in deportation rules, visa policies or work authorisations, and US officials told CBS News that DHS and ICE had received no instructions to reduce enforcement. ICE is reportedly aiming for about 19,000 arrests a week.
Who is Trump’s new chief of staff?
Stephen Miller, the chief architect of Trump’s hardline immigration agenda, replaces Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff, starting Monday, 9 November 2026. The appointment was announced shortly after the 60 Minutes interview was recorded.
What did voters say about the immigration crackdown?
CBS News exit polling found that 58 per cent of voters nationwide believed the Trump administration’s immigration actions had gone too far. Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate in the midterm elections on Tuesday, 3 November 2026.
