Trump Says Hard-line Deportations Cost Him at Midterms
WHO:
CNN - Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa’s incoming attorney general, Nathan Johnson, said he would scrutinize state agencies’ agreements with ICE under the 287(g) program.
CNN - Houston Mayor John Whitmire issued a directive limiting cooperation between ICE and local law enforcement during traffic stops.
CNN - President Donald Trump discussed the midterm election results and immigration enforcement in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes,” conducted by Ross Douthat.
CNN - Trump said Republican candidates had not been able to translate his popularity into their own races. He took no personal blame for the Republican losses.
CNN - Trump named Iran and poor messaging as primary culprits in Republicans’ election performance.
CNN - Trump identified immigrants who had been in the United States for ten years or more without committing serious crimes as people affected by the crackdown.
CNN - Stephen Miller, described as the architect of Trump’s immigration policies, was named as Trump’s new chief of staff.
CNN - Trump discussed Vice President JD Vance’s comments blaming the Iran war for Republican losses, and mentioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio as a potential future presidential candidate.
WHAT:
CNN - Trump said “every president has a problem” with outside entities seeking to curry favor with the president, while denying involvement in his family’s business ventures despite not having fully divested.
CNN - Trump said a son he described as a “very straight, good guy” manages his money, with most of it “given to the biggest firms on Wall Street to invest.”
CNN - Hinojosa has called Texas’s Operation Lone Star costly and “political theatre,” but has not specified what she would change.
CNN - Johnson said he would retain an ICE agreement only if ICE allowed him private individual investigative authority over ICE actions in Texas.
CNN - A Texas law requires sheriffs in all 254 counties to cooperate in some form with federal immigration authorities; the state Senate remains Republican-controlled, while Democrats won the governor’s office, attorney general’s office, and state House.
CNN - Texas’s required sheriff agreements must be signed by next month, and enforcement will largely fall to Democratic officials taking office in January.
CNN - Trump said, “I do hate some of my enemies,” and concluded, “I probably cannot do that now because I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will.”
CNN - Trump said his endorsement “would play a big role” in the Republican Party, adding that his “endorsement capacity has been very strong.”
CNN - Trump said his family traded about 50,000 stocks, describing the transactions as computer-generated and saying he did not know what they were buying.
CNN - The article reported that Trump had earned more than $1 billion from crypto businesses he and his sons launched, and that an investment firm tied to the United Arab Emirates acquired nearly half of the family’s cryptocurrency company ahead of his second inauguration.
NBC News - Trump acknowledged that deportations were “too tough” and said they hurt him in the midterms.
CNN - Trump said the immigration crackdown, which involved thousands of undocumented migrants being arrested and deported, was unpopular and went too far: “It was too tough. I think it might be too tough.”
NBC News - Trump said he wanted to work out a deal with Democrats on immigration.
CNN - Trump said he wished Vance had been more supportive of the Iran conflict and said his own answer to whether he would make the same decision again was “an emphatic yes.”
CNN - Asked whether he would endorse Vance if Vance ran for president, Trump replied, “Probably. Not necessarily,” and said, “Maybe I’m better off not getting involved.”
CNN - Trump praised Rubio, saying he was “doing a fantastic job.”
WHERE:
CNN - ICE officer Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican construction worker, was fatally shot in Houston in July, prompting outrage.
CNN - Texas has more extensive state and local law-enforcement cooperation with the federal government than any other state, according to an analysis by FWD.us.
CNN - The interview was conducted for CBS’s “60 Minutes.”
WHY:
CNN - Trump said his immigration crackdown had become “politically toxic” after he campaigned on the issue in 2024.
CNN - CNN’s Voter Poll found that voters who said immigration enforcement was crucial to their vote favored Greg Abbott over Gina Hinojosa by 17 percentage points; Hinojosa supporters also cited priorities such as curbing data-center construction.
CNN - Trump attributed Republican losses primarily to Iran and bad messaging, and acknowledged that his immigration crackdown was unpopular.
HOW:
CNN - Operation Lone Star included transporting migrants by bus to Democratic-led cities, blocking federal agents from part of the border, installing Rio Grande buoys, and authorizing state law enforcement to detain migrants.
CNN - Trump said he had told Vance to “Write what you feel” when Vance asked what to write about Iran.
CNN - Trump said his son manages his money and that most of it is “given to the biggest firms on Wall Street to invest.”
(UPDATED November 9, 2026 19:59 UTC)
President Trump said his immigration crackdown went too far and hurt Republicans in the midterms. He blamed Iran and poor messaging for the losses, while seeking an immigration deal with Democrats. In Texas, incoming officials plan to scrutinize ICE agreements as Houston limits cooperation during traffic stops.
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(UPDATED November 9, 2026 13:58 UTC)
Trump acknowledged his immigration crackdown went too far and hurt Republicans in midterm races. He blamed Iran and poor messaging for losses, and said he wants an immigration deal. Texas officials are also moving to scrutinize or limit cooperation with ICE.
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(UPDATED November 9, 2026 03:59 UTC)
President Trump acknowledged harsh deportations hurt Republicans, while blaming Iran and poor messaging for midterm losses. He said he wanted an immigration deal with Democrats, but emphatically supported his Iran decision. Trump praised Marco Rubio, questioned endorsing JD Vance, and said he hated some enemies.
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(UPDATED November 9, 2026 03:02 UTC)
Trump acknowledged his immigration crackdown went too far and hurt Republicans in midterm elections. He blamed Iran and poor messaging for losses, taking no personal responsibility. Trump wants an immigration deal with Democrats and said he would back Vance, perhaps.