Trump’s Post-midterm Interview as Democrats Weigh Cooperation
WHO:
CBS News - Trump said he endorsed Ken Paxton in Texas and Darline Graham in South Carolina; he said Graham ran “in honor of” Lindsey Graham.
CBS News - Trump said he thought John Cornyn would also have lost in South Carolina.
CBS News - Trump said he had confidence in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and believed their war would end soon.
CBS News - Trump said he might not endorse a Republican successor and that “Maybe I’m better off not getting involved.”
CBS News - Trump said he believes he is a religious person and hopes to go to heaven.
CNN - Former President Barack Obama and former presidents Joe Biden and Bill Clinton contacted Jeffries to offer help; several potential 2028 presidential candidates also contacted him.
CNN - Michigan Rep.-elect Will Lawrence reversed his earlier position and planned to vote for Jeffries as speaker.
CNN - Hakeem Jeffries said he expects to become the first Black speaker in American history and lead a Democratic House majority.
CNN - Jeffries said he and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer have discussed how to constrain President Trump; Jeffries said Trump had not called him, and he had not called Trump.
CNN - Jeffries said he had never spoken directly with incoming chief of staff Stephen Miller.
CBS News - President Donald Trump discussed the midterm results with interviewer Ross Douthat in a White House interview.
CBS News - Trump said Vice President JD Vance had asked his opinion before writing a social media post attributing the Republican loss to the Iran war; Trump said, “I don't disagree” with Vance’s analysis.
CBS News - Trump said he could work with Democrats, including on immigration, and said, “Very easily,” when asked if he could avoid insulting them for six months to reach a deal.
CBS News - Trump named Marco Rubio as a potential Republican presidential successor and said Rubio was doing a “fantastic job” as secretary of state.
ABC News - Michigan senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed said Democrats would work with Trump if “he wants to act serious,” but would not partner with him if he chose “foolishness.” El-Sayed called Trump “an unserious fool.”
ABC News - El-Sayed is set to become the nation’s first Muslim senator. He campaigned on getting money out of politics, putting money in people’s pockets, and passing Medicare for all.
Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson - Texas senator-elect James Talarico said his coalition included first-time voters, three-time Trump voters, and working people across Texas.
WHAT:
CBS News - Trump claimed the Strait of Hormuz was open, said U.S. ships were passing through with a military presence, and said countries protected during the war would repay the costs.
CBS News - Trump said Iran’s nuclear material was “buried under thousands of tons of rock” and said he was not looking to escalate the war.
CBS News - Trump said the United States had “decapitated” Iran’s nuclear arsenal and said Israel would not exist without his actions.
CBS News - Trump said Ukraine would end up with “a little bit different shape.”
CBS News - Trump said his net worth had increased, but that he devoted almost no time to it; he said his sons ran his company and that most of his money was invested in Wall Street index funds.
CBS News - Trump said he was an AI “bull” partly because China’s President Xi Jinping supported AI development; Trump called the technology “super intelligence” and said its risks could be managed.
CBS News - Trump said he had not heard of a secret government UFO research program but would investigate whether one existed.
CNN - Jeffries said he personally pressed Democrats to support an Iran war powers resolution; four Democrats voted against the rest of the caucus.
CNN - CNN reported Jeffries raised hundreds of millions of dollars for Democrats and that the party’s House majority could approach 260 members.
CBS News - Trump said he expects to endorse a Republican presidential successor, but said he might not get involved; he said the party has a “tremendous bench.”
CBS News - Trump said he co-owns cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial with his sons and said he knew nothing about its investments. Douthat said some investors were connected to the United Arab Emirates government.
CBS News - Trump said he was “not too much of a believer” in UFOs, but recounted Air Force pilots telling him that round objects had passed their F-22s at three times the aircraft’s speed.
CBS News - Asked whether he could forgive enemies to enter paradise, Trump said, “I probably cannot do that” and “I do hate some of my enemies.”
CNN - Jeffries said he wants to use a bipartisan housing bill as a model for future legislation; the bill became law after Trump did not sign or veto it.
CBS News - Trump’s Republican Party lost the House and Senate and statewide offices in Texas, Kansas, and South Carolina. Trump said he was not on the ballot and blamed candidate appeal, the Iran war, higher gasoline prices, and dislike of Israel.
CBS News - Trump said the economy had “historically good numbers” and the highest stock market in history, but attributed the election result partly to “bad messaging.”
CBS News - Trump said deportation policy “might be too tough” and proposed a possible deal allowing some long-term, employed immigrants to remain legally, while removing killers and drug dealers.
CBS News - Trump said he expected “maybe a few changes” to his team. CBS reported that Susie Wiles was replaced as chief of staff by Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
CBS News - Trump said he had confidence in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and claimed the United States had won “two wars,” including Venezuela, and had taken out billions of dollars.
ABC News - Trump said Stephen Miller would become White House chief of staff, replacing Wiles.
ABC News - El-Sayed criticized the Iran war, tariffs on Canada, and cuts to Medicaid to fund tax cuts for wealthy people. He criticized U.S. military aid to Israel and the Israeli government.
Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson - Talarico said Democrats won Texas despite at least $225 million spent by Elon Musk in the midterms to support Republican control of the state government. He cited more than $300 million spent on his Senate campaign and said he won by 12 points.
Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson - Talarico said his campaign mobilized 60,000 volunteers, delivered bottled water in Sand Branch, donated school supplies in El Cenizo, and collected more than 20,000 pounds of groceries for Fort Worth families.
WHERE:
CBS News - Trump’s interview took place at the White House. The discussion included election results in Texas, Kansas, and South Carolina, and immigration policy.
ABC News - El-Sayed’s Senate race was in Michigan; he discussed a flight to Florida by his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers.
Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson - Talarico’s campaign activities included Sand Branch, south of Dallas; El Cenizo, on the border; and Fort Worth.
WHEN:
CBS News - Trump said Ukrainian, Russian, and American delegations were scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi for the first time since February.
ABC News - Trump said Miller would assume the chief-of-staff role effective Monday.
Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson - Talarico delivered his victory speech after winning the Senate seat; the article identifies the election as the 2026 midterms.
WHY:
CBS News - Trump said he ordered action against Iran because “you can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” and said he believed the decision would be judged positively in history.
ABC News - El-Sayed said cooperation depended on Trump acting seriously and addressing issues affecting Americans.
Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson - Talarico said economic and political systems were broken and that division benefited the wealthy and powerful; he called for campaign-finance changes, universal health care, investment in schools, and an end to “corrupt forever wars.”
HOW:
CBS News - Trump said Russia was allowed to supply diesel oil to the world, not the United States, and denied lifting diesel sanctions.
CNN - Jeffries said he made Medicaid cuts a central focus of Democrats’ opposition to Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” and focused their message on lapsed health care subsidies, contributing to a government shutdown.
CNN - Jeffries said Democrats would relentlessly pursue legislation and leave Trump to decide whether to partner with them; he cited the housing bill as a possible route for advancing legislation without a presidential signature.
CBS News - Trump said he could cooperate with Democrats on immigration by negotiating legal status for some immigrants who had lived and worked in the United States for 10 or 15 years.
CBS News - Trump said he would consider AI safety “guardrails” but did not want the United States to fall behind China, which he said had no guardrails.
Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson - Talarico described local, person-to-person organizing and cross-party coalition-building as methods used by his campaign.
(UPDATED November 9, 2026 05:57 UTC)
Republicans lost control of Congress and several state offices, while Trump blamed multiple factors. Trump said he could work with Democrats on immigration, but defended controversial policies. Hakeem Jeffries expects to lead a Democratic House majority, with bipartisan cooperation a priority.
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(UPDATED November 9, 2026 05:04 UTC)
Jeffries expects to lead Democrats in the House, while Trump says he can work with them. Trump acknowledged Republican losses and floated legal status for some long-term immigrants. Michigan’s El-Sayed says cooperation depends on Trump acting seriously.
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(UPDATED November 9, 2026 04:00 UTC)
Republicans lost Congress and key races; Trump blamed candidates, the Iran war, and messaging. Trump said he could negotiate with Democrats on immigration. Texas Democrat James Talarico credited local organizing for his victory, while Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed offered conditional cooperation.