President Donald Trump told Ross Douthat, a correspondent for CBS's 60 Minutes, that his deportation drive was too harsh. "I think it was too tough," he said in the interview, which aired Sunday. He said "that hurt me" at the polls. Republicans lost the House and Senate last week. He still said he "got an A+ for closing up the border." But he said he got hurt because the government also "took people that had good jobs" over one violation. He said he'd "love to do something on immigration" with Democrats, who take over Congress next year. He gave no details. He taped the interview Friday. The same day, he named Stephen Miller his chief of staff. Many see Miller as the architect of the deportation push. Miller takes over today. CBS exit polls found 58% of voters think the immigration crackdown has gone too far.

Any Deal for Longtime Workers Is Amnesty

Trump's hardline supporters say he's breaking his central promise.

They voted for mass deportations. Trump talked about a deal for people who've been here "10 and 15 years." Conservative influencers called it amnesty. They turned on him online. Tomi Lahren, a conservative commentator, wrote, "I'm kind of confused because I voted for no endless wars and mass deportations." James Fishback, a former Republican candidate for Florida governor, called Trump the "Betrayer in Chief." MAGA influencer Joey Mannarino wrote, "If Trump does this, I'm done."

They say going soft would hurt the party. Matt Vespa of Townhall says voters still trust the GOP on immigration. In the CBS exit poll, Republicans edged Democrats on the issue, 43% to 41%. "Amnesty is arsenic to the GOP," Vespa wrote. The White House says Trump never used the word. Its Rapid Response account posted that "the word 'amnesty' was never even said in this entire exchange."

Congress Should Take Him Up on It

Salazar says Trump just described a bill she's already written.

A Republican-led bill would do what Trump described. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a Florida Republican, wrote on X that what Trump described "is what the Dignity Act is all about." She wrote that bill with Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas. It would give many longtime undocumented immigrants legal status, but no path to citizenship. Trump said "a large part of the country" thinks undocumented workers "should be put out." He said another large part thinks "they should be allowed to stay—if they are good people, working in a landscaping company or working in a hotel." People on the right piled onto Salazar's post with "no amnesty."

Not deporting someone isn't the same as legal status. Adam Klein, a former senior Homeland Security official, says Trump seems to see something the crackdown has ignored. He sees "perhaps an opening for a broader discussion." "But I would not confuse an opening with a commitment," he said. He also says deciding not to deport someone isn't the same as granting legal status. Trump said "people have already called me," but he didn't say who. Douthat asked if he could stop insulting Democrats for six months to get a deal. Trump said, "Very easily."

Miller's Promotion Shows Nothing Has Changed

Skeptics say the people who built the policy are still running it.

Trump just promoted the man behind the crackdown. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York made that point on X. "That's not a course correction. That's a promotion," he wrote. Miller reportedly pushed immigration agents last year to aim for 3,000 arrests a day. Trump also said people on the "pretty far right" want everyone deported. Douthat asked if any of them work for him. Trump said, "Yes."

Homeland Security says its agents won't slow down. The department said its agents wouldn't be "backing away or slowing down." Erick Erickson, a conservative commentator, wrote that the people responsible for the policy "are the ones being rewarded." In the same interview, Trump also blamed "bad messaging, maybe by me."

Where This Lands

Trump says his deportation push was too tough and hurt him in the midterms. His hardline supporters say any deal for longtime workers is amnesty and a betrayal. Salazar says Trump just described her bill. Schumer and Erickson point to Miller, who takes over as chief of staff today. Homeland Security says its agents won't slow down.

Sources