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President Trump told “60 Minutes” that he blames Republican candidates and the war in Iran for the party’s midterm defeat, and acknowledged that his mass deportation policy was “too tough.”
Sitting down with correspondent
Ross Douthat, Trump was also asked about corruption, UFOs and his views of the afterlife. Douthat, a Catholic conservative, asked Trump whether he could forgive enemies like James Comey and Nancy Pelosi as a condition of getting into heaven.
Trump responded that they are “very bad people” and “very dishonest” and said that pretending to forgive them would mean that he wasn’t being “real.”
“You are telling me you couldn’t find it in your heart to forgive some of your enemies, after all that’s been given to you?” Douthat asked.
“Can I be honest?” Trump said. “I probably cannot do that, no, because I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will.”
Nevertheless, Trump suggested he may work with Democrats on an immigration bill next year, and appeared open to the idea that his administration had been too punitive in its deportation policy.
“It was too tough,” he said. “I think it might be too tough.”
Shortly after the Friday interview, however, he elevated immigration hardliner Stephen Miller to the position of chief of staff.
Asked about the reasons for Republicans’ resounding defeat, Trump echoed the conventional wisdom that it was about the Iran war and gas prices, but also cited hostility to Israel as a factor.
“They didn’t like the war,” Trump said. “They didn’t like the fact that gasoline went up because I had it down at a low. And there’s a great dislike, incredibly, for Israel.”
He also suggested that Israel would have to “pay us back” for the costs of the war. “Without us, Israel wouldn’t exist,” he said. “Israel would not exist except for Donald Trump.”
Trump said, however, that he would do the Iran war all over again, and did not signal a major change in course as a result of the election on any other issues. “I’ve had the best two years in the history of the presidency,” he said.
Douthat, who was hired away from the New York Times in July, got mixed results as he explored metaphysical subjects with the president.
“What do you think happens when you die?” Douthat asked. “I hope I’m missed,” Trump replied.
Trump also described himself as a “religious person” and said he hopes to go to heaven.
Trump deflected questions about his massive increase in wealth since returning to the White House, saying that his son runs his company and that he is unaware of his net worth. “I guess it’s gone up,” he said. “I don’t even know.”
