President Donald Trump sat down with CBS’s “60 Minutes” for his first interview since Tuesday’s midterm elections, and while correspondent Ross Douthat pressed him on Republican losses, the president made clear he isn’t backing away from the movement he built. The interview, recorded at the White House on Friday, aired Sunday night.
Asked whether MAGA can survive without him as its leader, Trump didn’t hesitate. “I think so. Because MAGA is basically common sense, you know?” he said. “MAGA’s strong borders, good military. We have created wealth at a level that our country has never seen before.”
“If I was on the ballot”
Trump said the midterm results came down in large part to the fact that he wasn’t on the ticket. “Well, number one, I was not on the ballot,” he said. “I think if I was on the ballot, it would’ve been a much different situation because you saw the level of popularity and love. There was love. We had massive rallies.”
He said that support didn’t transfer to some candidates voters didn’t like, and he also pointed to the war with Iran, higher gas prices and what he called “a great dislike, incredibly, for Israel.” He blamed part of the problem on messaging and on the press. “The press doesn’t cover positive news for Republicans. They don’t cover certainly positive news for me. So I have to do it myself,” Trump said. “We have historically good numbers. We have the highest stock market in history.”
No regrets on Iran
When Douthat raised Vice President JD Vance’s post-election argument that the Iran war cost Republicans, Trump said he didn’t disagree, but insisted he would make the same decision again. “My answer is an emphatic yes because you can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “I think, historically, this will be a very good decision. Is it a good decision for today and tomorrow? Maybe not. But you know, I have to go with what’s right for our country.”
“I’ve stopped them from having a nuclear weapon. That’s a big thing,” he added, saying he is not looking to escalate the conflict and that Iran’s nuclear material is “buried under thousands of tons of rock.”
“An A+ for closing up the border”
On immigration, Trump said his record “both helped and hurt.” “I think I got an A+ for closing up the border. I get very high marks for getting the bad ones out,” he said. He also acknowledged that removing long-settled workers with jobs hurt him, said the policy “might be too tough” in those cases, and said he’d “love to do something on immigration” with the incoming Democratic Congress, while keeping the focus on getting “the killers,” “the rough ones” and “the drug dealers” out.
CBS noted that about an hour after the interview, Trump replaced chief of staff Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller, the architect of the administration’s deportation policy.
Hegseth, investigations and a few changes
Trump said he still has confidence in Secretary Pete Hegseth, though he expects “maybe a few changes” to his team. “I love my Cabinet. I think they’re good,” he said. Asked whether Democrats might impeach him again, he said, “I can’t imagine it,” adding, “What have I done? I’ve had the best two years in the history of the presidency.”
On 2028, Trump said he would “probably” endorse a successor but not necessarily, praised Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and said there is “a tremendous bench” of Republicans. He also stood by his famously blunt view of his political enemies: “I do hate some of my enemies and I always will.”