Trump concedes deportations were 'too hard' after midterm losses
The president admitted his enforcement strategy went too far in a CBS interview, yet named Stephen Miller as chief of staff on Friday.
By Marco Kapoor ·
Donald Trump stated on Sunday that his administration's deportation policy was "too hard," marking a public acknowledgment of excess following the midterm elections.
During a television interview with CBS, the president addressed the strategy's intensity. "I think it was too hard. I think it was maybe too hard, yes," he told correspondent Ross Douthat. The full segment airs later in the day, but this exchange represents the first televised appearance by the commander in chief since voters cast their ballots on Tuesday.
The admission comes after Democrats secured majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Campaigns for these seats heavily featured opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, a stance that energized Latino voters and contributed to the party's electoral gains.
Despite the shift in congressional power and the president's retrospective comments, the administration moved to entrench its enforcement apparatus. On Friday, Trump appointed Stephen Miller, the senior advisor often credited with designing the current anti-immigration framework, as the new White House chief of staff.
Markwayne Mullin, the Secretary of Homeland Security, reinforced the department's trajectory in a social media post one day after the election. He warned that deportations would continue, signaling that the operational tempo of the program would not slow down despite the political fallout.
