Trump Acknowledges His Own Officials Want 'Everybody Taken Out' While Calling His Crackdown 'Too Tough'

Donald Trump has acknowledged that his mass deportation drive 'might be too tough', while confirming that some people inside his own administration want 'everybody taken out' of the country.

The president made the remarks in a post-midterm 60 Minutes interview with Ross Douthat, published on Sunday, days after Republicans lost control of the House and the Senate.

'It Might Be Too Tough'

Asked whether immigration had hurt Republicans at the ballot box, Trump gave a split verdict. 'I think it both helped and hurt. I think I got an A+ for closing up the border,' he said, according to the CBS News transcript.

When Douthat pressed him on whether his deportation policy had gone too far, the president replied: 'I think it might be too tough, yeah.'

He then pointed to hardliners on his own side. 'There's a group of people that I would say on the sort of pretty far right that would like everybody taken out,' Trump said.

Douthat asked whether any of those figures worked in his administration. Trump answered 'Yes', adding: 'There're a lotta those people.'

'Get The Killers Out'

Trump drew a line between criminals and long-term residents. 'Get the killers out. Get all the... rough ones out. Get the drug dealers out,' he said.

Others, he argued, deserve a different approach. They 'should be allowed to stay if they're good people working in a landscaping company, or workin' in a hotel'.

He also floated a compromise for people who have lived in the US for years. 'Let the people that are here, and in some cases here for ten and 15 years, work a deal for them,' he said. Trump said he believed some Democrats would be interested in a deal, adding that people had already contacted him.

The tone marks a sharp turn from a year ago. In a 60 Minutes interview aired on 2 November 2025, Trump said immigration raids 'haven't gone far enough', CBS News reported.

Miller Steps Up

The interview sat awkwardly beside a major White House reshuffle. About an hour after the interview, which was recorded on Friday, Trump named Stephen Miller, whom CBS described as 'the architect of the president's mass deportation policy', as his new chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles.

Miller takes over on Monday 9 November, according to Trump's Truth Social announcement, The Hill reported. Republican Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana called the promotion 'a mistake', telling CNN that Midwestern voters 'don't like his tone'.

Trump also offered other reasons for the defeat. 'They didn't like the war. They didn't like the fact that gasoline went up,' he said, referring to the conflict with Iran. He also insisted: 'I was not on the ballot.'

The president stood by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who faces a potential impeachment vote in the House this week, Axios reported. Asked whether he had confidence in Hegseth, Trump said: 'I do. Look, we've won two wars.'

Trump was also noncommittal about 2028. Asked whether he would endorse a successor, he said: 'Probably. Not necessarily.' He later mused: 'Maybe I'm better off not getting involved.'