Trump admits ICE crackdown was ‘too tough’ and helped hand historic win to Democrats in midterms: ‘That hurt me’

President Donald Trump made a rare admission that his immigration enforcement and deportations went too far, and pledged to come to a consensus with Democrats. 

In an interview with CBS 60 Minutes which aired Sunday, Trump revealed that his deportation policy was ‘too tough.’

Questioned by interviewer Ross Douthat on what issue he would like to work with Democrats on, Trump responded, ‘I’d love to do something on immigration.’

The President said his immigration agenda had been a double-edged sword for Republicans. 

He argued that voters overwhelmingly supported his efforts to secure the southern border but were more divided over mass deportations.

‘I think it both helped and hurt. I think I got an A+ for closing up the border,’ Trump said.

But he acknowledged that his administration had also targeted otherwise law-abiding immigrants whose only offense was entering the country illegally.

‘I get hurt because we also took people that had good jobs,’ Trump said, noting that many worked in hotels, landscaping and other industries while sometimes paying taxes.

The president suggested that Americans were uncomfortable watching longtime workers being rounded up and removed from the country.

‘When you go into a hotel, and you have a woman that’s worked there as… a maid, as a cleaner… as a waitress… and all of a sudden, they’re being taken outta the country, it’s tough,’ Trump said.

The remarks represent a striking shift in tone for the president, who made mass deportations a centerpiece of his immigration agenda.

Trump also acknowledged that some hardliners within his own administration favored removing virtually every illegal immigrant, regardless of their circumstances.

Asked whether those individuals worked in his White House, Trump responded: ‘Yes.’

Since the 60 Minutes interview was taped, Trump selected his longtime aide Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner, as his new White House Chief of Staff.

The selection has already rubbed some Democrats the wrong way.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who looks likely to be the next Speaker, was not a fan of Trump picking Miller for the Chief of Staff role.

In an appearance on ABC This Week, Jeffries noted that he doesn’t see himself working with Miller, unlike at times finding common ground with former White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

‘There’s not going to be any opportunity, certainly, to work with Stephen Miller and what he represents,’ Jeffries added.

After Miller was named the new Chief of Staff on Friday, liberals were apoplectic about the new position for Miller, whom they see as the enabler of some of Trump’s more extreme impulses on immigration.

‘Trump making Stephen Miller Chief of Staff is a giant FU to the entire country that just voted against their barbarism, cruelty and hate,’ wrote leftist commentator Krystal Ball.

‘It’s also a sign that in spite of what he said, he has zero interest in moderating or working with Democrats to deliver for the people.’

California Governor Gavin Newsom called Miller a ‘vile thug’ and called the move an insult to those who voted for Democrats on Tuesday.

‘Miller cooked up the sadistic mass deportation regime that ripped apart families and trampled basic civil rights. Innocent people are dead because of him. Voters rejected his cruelty and extremism. This is sick.’

Still, Trump thinks a deal with the Democrats who scored big victories in Tuesday’s elections could include some form of legal status for undocumented immigrants who have spent years working in the United States.

‘I think that’s something that’s actually doable,’ he said in his 60 Minutes appearance.