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In his first sit-down interview since Republicans lost the House and Senate in Tuesday's midterm elections, President Donald Trump told CBS's 60 Minutes he could not bring himself to forgive two of his most prominent political enemies — former FBI Director James Comey and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — even if forgiveness were the price of entering heaven. The interview, conducted by columnist Ross Douthat at the White House on Friday, aired on Sunday night.
Douthat first asked Trump what he thought would happen when he died. "I'm a religious person, so in theory I go to heaven," Trump said. "I hope so. I don't want to go to hell." Douthat then put the question directly: suppose he passed away and was entering the next life, and all he had to do to enter paradise was feel love and forgiveness for Comey, Pelosi and anyone else he had expressed hatred for over the years — could he do it?
"Well, then I wouldn't be real, would I?" Trump replied, calling them "extremely dishonest people, very bad people, very bad for our country." Asked whether the answer was no, he said: "The answer is no. I want to be honest, no." Pressed again — before the judgment throne of God, could he not find it in his heart to forgive some of his enemies? — Trump said: "Can I be honest? I probably cannot do that, no, because I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will."
Douthat prefaced the question by recalling the memorial service for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, where Kirk's widow Erika publicly forgave her husband's alleged assassin. Moments later, Trump took the stage and said: "I hate my opponents, and I don't want the best for them."
Comey oversaw the FBI's investigation into ties between Trump and Russia during the president's first term. He has been indicted twice by the Justice Department within the past year — first in September 2025 and again in April of this year. Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House, has long been one of Trump's most prominent Democratic critics.
The interview was Trump's most extensive assessment yet of the midterm losses, in which he blamed Republican candidates and the war in Iran, acknowledged his mass deportation policy "might be too tough," and signalled he may make "a few changes" to his cabinet. The first change came an hour after the conversation, when Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was replaced by Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.