Trump took no personal blame for the wipeout, despite his record unpopularity. He said GOP candidates weren’t able to translate his popularity to their own races.
And while he acknowledged areas where his record was unpopular, he made clear he wasn’t in a conciliatory mood on most issues as Democrats prepare to take majorities on Congress.
Deportations were ‘too tough’
As he assessed why Republicans fared so poorly in last week’s elections, Trump named Iran and bad messaging as the primary culprits.
But he also acknowledged that his administration’s crackdown on immigration that saw thousands of undocumented migrants arrested and deported was unpopular, and in his view went too far.
“It was too tough. I think it might be too tough,” Trump said, citing in particular immigrants who have been in the country for ten years or more without committing serious crimes.
It was a striking acknowledgement from the president that a topic he ran on in 2024 has, in two years, become politically toxic. Behind the scenes, Trump has expressed misgivings at some of the tactics his administration has employed in rounding up migrants.
Still, it’s unclear whether Trump is considering any changes to his immigration agenda, even after conceding it was too hard-line. He just named the architect of the policies, Stephen Miller, as his new chief of staff.
Would rather go to hell than forgive
The interview with CBS’ Ross Douthat ended on a revealing back-and-forth over whether Trump could ever forgive his perceived enemies — even ahead of his final judgement before God.
“I think they were very bad people, and I dislike — I can use the word hate — I do hate some of my enemies,” Trump said, before concluding: “I probably cannot do that now because I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will.”
The question was prefaced by recounting a moment last year at the funeral for slain activist Charlie Kirk, where his widow, Erika, publicly forgave his alleged assassin. Moments later, Trump appeared onstage to declare: “I hate my opponents, and I don’t want the best for them.”
Trump has cultivated a long list of grievances, from Democrats and other officials who led investigations into him during his first term to rival politicians who have opposed his agenda.
While he has at moments voiced a desire for conciliation — including last week when he said he wanted to work with newly powerful Democrats — his default has always been to retrench into his perceived injustices.
A note for Vance
When Vice President JD Vance wrote last week that the Iran war was to blame for the Republican wipeouts, Trump sounded mostly supportive.
A few days later, however, he has qualified his response. Now, he says he wishes Vance had been more supportive of the conflict even while assessing its political fallout.
“The only thing I wish he would have said there — if he felt it, and you’d have to ask him about that — but if you had it to do again, would you do it? You know, he’s part of a decision-making process. And my answer is an emphatic yes,” Trump said.
He said Vance had spoken to him beforehand about the Iran post, but suggested they did not delve into the content of the lengthy essay.
“He asked me, ‘What do I think?’ I said, ‘Write what you feel,’” Trump said as he recounted the conversation he had with Vance beforehand. “By the way, what are you going to write?”
Hedging on a successor
Vance’s post about Iran was widely interpreted in Washington as a way for the vice president to lay down a marker ahead of a potential run for president.
In the interview, Trump suggested Vance would not automatically receive his endorsement should he run. Instead, the president mused he may withhold an endorsement altogether.
“Probably. Not necessarily,” Trump said when asked about a potential endorsement, later adding, “Maybe I’m better off not getting involved.”
Asked who would be on his shortlist other than Vance, Trump touted Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“I think Marco’s great. I mean, he certainly loves it, and he’s doing great. He’s doing a fantastic job. The ones they think about, but there are many others, and I’d rather not mention their names. There’s some senators that are excellent. I know them all. I like them a lot,” Trump said.
As he enters the final stretch of his presidency, Trump will have to grapple with a Republican Party that eventually tries to move on. He said in the interview he still believes his endorsement carries significant weight within the GOP.
“I think it would play a big role if I did, because my endorsement capacity has been very strong.”
Questions on corruption
The most combative portion of the interview came as Douthat pressed Trump on his families extensive business interests, including in crypto, that have drawn corruption accusations from Democrats.
Trump said in the interview that one of his sons, who he called a “very straight, good guy,” is the one who manages his money and that most of it is “given to the biggest firms on Wall Street to invest.”
The president has raked in more than $1 billion from various crypto businesses that he and his sons launched shortly before he was sworn in last year.
An investment firm tied to the United Arab Emirates acquired nearly half of the Trump family’s cryptocurrency company ahead of Trump’s second inauguration.
The president downplayed concerns that countries are trying to buy influence in the White House, saying that “every president has a problem” with outside entities seeking to curry favor with the president.
And he insisted he had no role in his family’s moneymaking ventures, despite not having fully divested.
“How do you divest from cash? So, I took a lot of heat because I think they traded, like, 50,000 stocks, because that’s what they do. It’s all computer generated. I have no idea what the hell they’re buying,” he said.
