President Donald Trump has conceded that his administration's immigration enforcement and deportation policies were "too tough" and may have inadvertently aided Democrats in the recent midterm elections. In an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," Trump stated that while his efforts to secure the border were popular, mass deportations were a divisive issue that "hurt" his party.
"I think it both helped and hurt. I think I got an A+ for closing up the border," Trump said. However, he acknowledged that targeting otherwise law-abiding immigrants, some of whom had established jobs and paid taxes, was difficult for voters to accept. "I get hurt because we also took people that had good jobs," he added, referencing instances of workers being removed from industries like hotels and landscaping.
These remarks signal a notable shift in tone for the president, who had previously made aggressive deportations a cornerstone of his immigration platform. Trump indicated that some within his administration favored removing nearly every undocumented immigrant, regardless of their circumstances. This comes as his longtime aide, Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner, was appointed as his new White House Chief of Staff, a move that has drawn criticism from Democrats.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries expressed his unwillingness to work with Miller, citing his association with "cruelty and hate." California Governor Gavin Newsom also condemned Miller's appointment as an insult to voters who supported Democrats, labeling his policies as "sadistic" and responsible for "ripped apart families." Despite these appointments and criticisms, Trump suggested that a bipartisan agreement on immigration, potentially including legal status for long-term undocumented workers, is achievable.
"I think that's something that's actually doable," Trump stated during the "60 Minutes" interview, implying a potential willingness to compromise with Democrats who secured significant victories in the elections.