President Trump attributed Republicans’ midterm defeat to the party’s candidates, the war in Iran and higher gasoline prices during an interview with “60 Minutes.” He also questioned the severity of his mass deportation policy, but defended his broader record and said he would make the same decision again about the war.
Speaking with correspondent Ross Douthat on Friday, Trump suggested he could work with Democrats on immigration legislation next year. Asked about his administration’s deportation approach, he acknowledged that it may have been excessively punitive. “It was too tough,” he said. “I think it might be too tough.” Shortly after the interview, however, he promoted immigration hardliner Stephen Miller to chief of staff.
In explaining the election result, Trump said voters disliked the Iran war and the rise in gasoline prices, which he contrasted with the lower prices he said he had achieved. He also identified hostility toward Israel as a factor in Republicans’ losses. His explanation combined criticism of Republican candidates with an acknowledgment of dissatisfaction over the war and its economic consequences.
Trump suggested that Israel should reimburse the United States for the war’s costs and claimed that the country’s existence depended on his support. Despite the electoral defeat, he offered no indication of a major shift on other issues. He described his first two years back in office as the best in presidential history.
The conversation also turned to forgiveness and the afterlife. Douthat, a Catholic conservative, asked whether Trump could forgive political enemies such as James Comey and Nancy Pelosi as a condition of entering heaven. Trump described them as bad and dishonest people and argued that claiming to forgive them would be insincere.
When Douthat pressed him on whether he could find forgiveness after everything he had received, Trump said he probably could not. “I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will,” he said.
Douthat, who joined from the New York Times in July, also asked Trump what he believed would happen when he died. Trump responded by expressing hope that people would miss him. He described himself as religious and said he hoped to reach heaven.
Asked about the substantial growth in his wealth since his return to the White House, Trump avoided a detailed answer. He said his son managed his company and that he did not know his net worth, while allowing that it had probably increased.
