Trump says harsh illegal-immigrant deportations may hurt Republicans in midterm elections

Summary

Trump said in a CBS interview that the deportation policy was “too harsh” and may have hurt Republicans in the 2026 midterms, blaming turnout, the Iran war, oil prices, and poor messaging rather than the policy itselfZhitong+ 3. He hinted at cabinet changes, backed the defense secretary, and promised many pardons, but his appointment of Stephen Miller as chief of staff and continued ICE enforcement suggest no real retreat on immigrationZhitong.

Impact Analysis

So the admission is the tell: Trump is acknowledging the political cost of mass deportation while simultaneously installing Stephen Miller as chief of staff and keeping ICE at roughly 19,000 arrests a weekZhitong+ 2. That combination says the policy is not pivoting; it is being defended rhetorically while enforced operationally. For the portfolio, the bigger signal is the post-midterm power shift: Democrats now control both chambers, raising subpoena risk around Trump-linked crypto and DJT, whose stock fell 28.62% last week to $3.99 amid weak Truth Social revenue and bitcoin-related lossesChina Finance Online+ 4. I would treat DJT and Trump-linked digital assets as high-beta political-risk vehicles, not core holdings. The trade is to avoid or hedge idiosyncratic Trump media exposure, especially where bitcoin liquidity and congressional scrutiny intersect. Meanwhile, tariff and price pain from Canada’s response kept voter dissatisfaction on economic issuesMSN, so macro sensitivity remains: watch rates, energy, and fiscal-gridlock risk.