Trump admits deportations were 'too tough' and hurt him

President Donald Trump admitted that his mass deportation policy was "too tough" and probably cost Republicans votes in the November 3 midterm elections. He said so in an interview on CBS's 60 Minutes, recorded on November 6 and aired on Sunday, November 8.

"I think it was too tough," Trump told correspondent Ross Douthat, adding that, ultimately, it "hurt" him. The president gave himself an "A+" for closing the border and "very high marks" for removing "the bad ones," but acknowledged that enforcement also swept up people with good jobs whose only offense was entering the country without authorization.

Trump mentioned hotel workers, waitresses and landscapers, and said there is "a large part of the country that think they should be allowed to stay." He said he would like to reach an immigration deal with Democrats, who will control both chambers of Congress starting in January, although he offered no bill, rules or timetable.

The interview comes after the Republican defeat in the midterms. According to an AP survey of more than 100,000 voters, about six in ten said the government's immigration actions had "gone too far." Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer replied that Trump's solution was to put Stephen Miller, the architect of that policy, in charge of the White House.

Trump also cited the war with Iran and rising gas prices as key factors in the defeat. "There seems to be a dislike for Israel. So you have that, you have the war itself, you have the gas prices and I think those are the primary reasons," he said in the interview, according to USA Today. The president agreed with Vice President JD Vance, who had blamed the war with Iran for the Republican defeat.

Photo: People

Source: USA Today