Trump tells 60 Minutes that deportation policy was ‘too tough’

Donald Trump has admitted that his deportation policy was “too tough” and has offered to strike an immigration deal with Democrats in a concession following the Republicans’ disastrous defeat in the midterm elections.

In an interview on the CBS network’s 60 Minutes broadcast on Sunday, the president acknowledged that the aggressive crackdown had hurt him politically and said he was open to an arrangement to allow some undocumented immigrants to remain in the US.

Trump was asked by 60 Minutes correspondent Ross Douthat whether his deportation policy had gone too far. “I think it was too tough,” he said. “I think it might be too tough, yeah. And a lot of people would say that it’s great. But a lot of people think it’s too tough.”

The president’s comments offered an unusually frank acknowledgment that one of the defining policies of his second administration had become a political liability. But they were seemingly at odds with his decision on Friday to elevate Stephen Miller, the architect of his immigration crackdown, to White House chief of staff.

Since Trump returned to office, sweeping Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids at workplaces, homes and public spaces have ensnared people with no criminal records, separated families and spread fear in immigrant communities. Federal agents fatally shot two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during operations in Minneapolis earlier this year.

The president claimed that his policy “both helped and hurt”, since people gave him an “A+ for closing up the border” and “very high marks for getting the bad ones out”. But he admitted: “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 added that there were competing views within the country about whether undocumented immigrants should be deported or allowed to remain if they were working and paying taxes. He said some people believed that “they should be allowed to stay if they’re good people working in a landscaping company” and “in some cases, paying taxes”.

Trump said he believed an agreement with Democrats was achievable, allowing some long-term undocumented residents to stay while continuing to remove people convicted of serious crimes. He proposed targeting killers, rapists and drug dealers while making an accommodation for people who had been in the country for 10 or 15 years.

“Let the people that are here, and in some cases here for 10 and 15 years, work a deal for them,” he said. He described the proposal as something that could be negotiated, saying: “I think that’s something that’s actually doable.”

Trump suggested Democrats were receptive to a compromise, saying some had already contacted him. Asked whether he could refrain from name-calling for six months to secure an agreement, he replied: “Very easily.”

Trump also blamed the war with Iran and higher petrol prices for much of the Republicans’ midterms defeat, agreeing with an assessment by his vice-president, JD Vance, that the conflict had been a major factor. He also cited what he described as growing dislike of Israel.

He maintained, however, that the military campaign had been justified and said he would make the same decision again. “My answer is an emphatic yes because you can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

Trump insisted the war had been won and predicted that Tehran would eventually negotiate a deal. He acknowledged that the military campaign might not have been popular in the short term, saying: “I think historically, this will be a very good decision. Is it a good decision for today and tomorrow? Maybe not.”

He said he was not looking to escalate the conflict after the midterms.

On the economy, the president conceded that his administration had failed to communicate its achievements effectively, despite repeatedly claiming that employment, investment and stock market figures were at record levels. “I think it was bad messaging, maybe by me,” he said.

Trump signalled an openness to safeguards for artificial intelligence, despite having previously favoured allowing technology companies to police themselves rather than imposing sweeping government restrictions. “I don’t mind guardrails,” he told 60 Minutes. “But I don’t wanna put us in a deep second position.”

The interview also raised questions about the substantial increase in Trump’s personal wealth since his return to the White House.

Douthat cited a Forbes estimate that Trump’s net worth had increased by $3bn from the autumn of 2024 to the autumn of 2025. Trump initially suggested that the increase reflected the general performance of the stock market and said his finances were managed by his son.

Asked about his family’s cryptocurrency business, World Liberty Financial, in which he is a co-owner and which has attracted investment from people connected to the United Arab Emirates, Trump defended the arrangement by saying: “I know nothing about it.”

But Dan Alexander, a Forbes senior editor who calculates the net worth of wealthy individuals for the magazine, challenged Trump’s explanation in a lengthy thread on X, arguing that the president’s increased fortune could not be explained simply by stock market gains.

Alexander identified several sources including cryptocurrency ventures that generated more than $1bn in proceeds and the appreciation of tokens retained by Trump, overseas licensing agreements that expanded the value of his branding business, and the removal of an almost $500m financial penalty in his New York civil fraud case.

Trump also offered a glimpse of the Republican succession battle ahead of the 2028 presidential election, saying he might endorse a candidate but had not decided whether to intervene. Asked whether he expected to endorse a successor, Trump replied: “Probably. Not necessarily.”

He described the Republican party as having a strong field of potential candidates and praised secretary of state Marco Rubio while declining to rule out other contenders.

The president said his endorsement would carry considerable weight but suggested he might be better off staying out of the contest. He also expressed confidence that the “Make America great again” movement could survive without him as its leader, describing its defining principles as strong borders and a strong military.

At the end of the interview, Trump was asked whether he could forgive political opponents including former FBI director James Comey and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, even before the judgment of God. Trump said: “The answer is no. I want to be honest, no.”

Douthat followed up: “Mr President. You have had the most charmed and remarkable life of any American in my entire lifetime and you are telling me that before the judgment throne of God you couldn’t find it in your heart to forgive some of your enemies? After all that’s been given to you? Come on. Help me out here.”

But Trump remained adamant, insisting: “I probably cannot do that, no, because I do hate some of my enemies and I always will.”

Douthat then noted that many presidents are remembered with a single line such as “He freed the slaves” or “He won the cold war” and asked what line will Trump’s presidency be remembered with.

The president said simply: “That I made America great again.”