Trump says deportations were too tough and hurt Republicans in the midterms

Trump said removing undocumented immigrants with jobs, including some who paid taxes, hurt Republicans in last week's midterm elections.

In a 60 Minutes interview recorded Friday and aired Sunday, Trump called his deportation policy “too tough.” He said the administration had removed people whose only crime was entering the country illegally, even when they had jobs in landscaping, hotels and other work.

What changed: Trump said “a large group of people” believes some of those immigrants should be allowed to stay. Asked whether he would work with congressional Democrats on a deal that created legal status for undocumented workers, he said yes.

That is a notable shift in tone from a president whose administration has pursued mass deportations. Trump also acknowledged that some people on the far right want every undocumented immigrant removed, and said some of them work in his administration.

The strange part: On Friday, Trump promoted Stephen Miller to White House chief of staff, replacing Susie Wiles. Miller conceived of the mass deportation policy Trump is now describing as politically costly. The policy's architect got a promotion on the same day Trump described one of its consequences.

Trump's explanation: He also blamed Republicans' midterm losses on “bad messaging,” including possibly his own. Trump said Republicans could not get their message across and complained that the media did not cover positive news about him, leaving him to communicate it himself.

The open question is whether Trump's stated interest in a deal with Democrats becomes an actual immigration proposal, and what legal status he would support for the workers he now says were swept up too broadly.