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Trump admits immigration enforcement may have been too 'tough' in first interview since midterms

US President Donald Trump said his administration's mass deportation campaign may have been "too tough" in a television interview aired Sunday, days after Republicans suffered heavy losses in midterm elections.

✦ Extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting•From 6 sources•1 min read•Updated November 9, 2026, 12:17 PM UTC
Key points
  • Trump said his deportation policy may be one of the reasons the Republicans lost so much ground in the midterm elections.
  • The president was asked in a “60 Minutes” interview that aired on Sunday whether his deportation policies went too far.
  • Trump concedes some voters were unhappy with his administration's controversial deportation drive.

And there's a large group of people who think that they should be allowed to stay." FLORIDA CONGRESSMAN DIAGNOSES GOP'S BLUE TSUNAMI LOSSES: 'WE FAILED TO MAKE THEM THINK WE CARED ABOUT THEM' "So you think your deportation policy — went too far?" Douthat asked.

Additional details
  • Voters, faced with an unprecedented rise in vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, alongside devastating outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, chose national candidates who prioritized public health, healthcare affordability, reproductive health and the impeachment of Robert F Kennedy Jr, among other key issues.
  • 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 spoke to CBS News correspondent Ross Douthat about several topics largely related to the Democratic Party's overwhelming wins in last week's midterm elections, which included victories in Republican strongholds like Texas.
  • CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE Trump also suggested many Democrats are willing to work with him to enforce the border, acknowledging incoming Texas Sen.-elect James Talarico as an example.
  • CONSERVATIVES STUNNED BY 'CATASTROPHIC' MIDTERM BLUE TSUNAMI, BLAME TRUMP'S IRAN WAR, HIGH GAS PRICES "I think it both helped and hurt," Trump answered.

How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →

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Every article behind this summary — 7 articles from 6 outlets

The Guardian WorldNovember 9, 2026, 12:17 PM UTC → Al JazeeraNovember 9, 2026, 8:35 AM UTC → The Guardian WorldNovember 9, 2026, 8:32 AM UTC → France 24November 9, 2026, 8:02 AM UTC → DW NewsNovember 9, 2026, 6:14 AM UTC → NYT PoliticsNovember 9, 2026, 3:16 AM UTC → Fox NewsNovember 9, 2026, 2:34 AM UTC →

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