Ross Douthat obviously hoped to make a headline or two with his Donald Trump interview on 60 Minutes last night. He may not have been ready for this headline, however: Trump Offers Immigration Reform to Democrats.
When Trump drops that bomb, Douthat can only reply, “What?” Trump then goes on to admit that immigration enforcement may have been “too tough”:
Full exchange on immigration: Trump is open to doing a deal with the Democrats on immigration, says current policy “helped and hurt”, deportation policy was “too tough”, and is open to doing something for “landscapers” and “hotel workers” who’ve been in the country 10-15+ years, is open to working with Talarico
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) November 9, 2026
From the CBS News transcript:
Ross Douthat: What is one thing you would like to work with a Democratic majority on–
President Donald Trump: I’d love to do something on immigration.
Ross Douthat: What?
President Donald Trump: Because– well, so —
Ross Douthat: Do you think immigration hurt you in the midterms?
President Donald Trump: I think–
Ross Douthat: Do you think the crackdown hurt you–
President Donald Trump: I think it 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. But I get hurt because we also took people that had good jobs, that– that created one violation, or breaking of the law, and that was that they came into the country illegally. Now, there is a large part of the country that think that they should be put out. And there’s a large part of the country that think that they should be allowed to stay if they’re good people working in a landscaping company, or workin’ in a hotel, or doing something, right? And in some cases, paying taxes. And there’s a large group of people who think that they should be allowed to stay.
Ross Douthat: So you think your deportation policy–
President Donald Trump: I think it was–
Ross Douthat: Went too far–
President Donald Trump: Too tough.
Ross Douthat: It was too tough?
President Donald Trump: I think it might be too tough, yeah.
There is certainly some evidence for this in the exit polls and other issue polling. While immigration enforcement remains popular, especially in the Harvard-Harris CAPS poll series, exit polls showed a big flip among Latino voters and younger men. Gas prices might have been the catalyst for the movement in those demos, which Trump also acknowledged as part of the fallout from the Iran War. However, Trump refused to budge on his prosecution of that war and told Douthat that preventing an Iranian nuke was far more important than losing the midterm elections. Trump sounds far more willing to budge on immigration – his core issue for more than a decade now – than on Iran.
The offer on immigration comes at an odd moment, too. Just a couple of days earlier, Trump removed Susie Wiles as his chief of staff and elevated Stephen Miller to replace her. Miller is well-known to be the architect of Trump’s hardline enforcement strategy and one of its most passionate public voices in support of it. The timing of Miller’s appointment was apparently at the same time or just after Trump recorded this interview with Douthat, making it even more mystifying.
Perhaps Trump wants a hardline team to negotiate with Democrats on immigration, but Miller might not even get a meeting with the Democrats who would lead on this issue unless it took place at a committee hearing under oath. If Trump just wants to signal a softer approach to enforcement – fewer raids and no more large-scale operations like Metro Surge – that might at least get Democrats to the table on immigration and border security. But is Miller the man who would quarterback the softening of those enforcement strategies? Doubtful.
This also complicates matters for the GOP’s presidential primary sweepstakes. Immigration enforcement and border security remain powerful and popular issues, not just with Republicans but more generally among the electorate. Any deals that loosen asylum policies or introduce DACA-like protections again will alienate the base and likely won’t prove popular enough with moderates to replace them. A deal may be possible, but it sets up a primary cycle where GOP candidates might have to accuse Trump of going soft, and it might make current administration officials like J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio less popular than an outsider like Ron DeSantis and others.
It’s a curious position for Trump, but not altogether new, either. Trump tried repeatedly to cut a deal on immigration ‘reform’ in his first term, including a legitimization of DACA, to the consternation of the MAGA base. Democrats shined him on when they had less leverage than they do now. This time they will demand even more concessions, and again, Miller won’t go even as far as Trump did the first time around. Trump may be sincere, but there’s a near-zero chance that anything happens, especially with the personnel choices Trump has just made. This may only signal a quieter phase of enforcement for the next two years to tee up the presidential election in 2028.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left’s lies, new legislation wasn’t needed to secure our border, just a new president.
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