President Donald Trump delivered a strikingly candid answer on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” Sunday, admitting he could not bring himself to forgive some of his political enemies, even if doing so were the price of entering heaven.
The moment came during Trump’s first sit-down interview since last week’s midterm elections, conducted by correspondent Ross Douthat, a conservative Catholic writer.
Douthat posed a hypothetical: if Trump were entering the next life and all he had to do to reach paradise was feel love and forgiveness for longtime foes such as former FBI Director James Comey and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, could he do it?
Trump acknowledged the politically safe response would be to say yes. He said he loves the country far more than he can love people and described his opponents as extremely dishonest and very bad for America.
“The answer is no,” Trump said.
Douthat pressed again, asking whether that held true even before the judgment throne of God. Trump didn’t budge, saying he dislikes those people and was willing to use the word hate.
Douthat made one final attempt, noting that Trump has lived what he called the most charmed and remarkable life of any American in his lifetime and asking how he still couldn’t find it in his heart to forgive.
Trump asked if he could be honest, then said he probably could not, because he does hate some of his enemies and always will. He pointed to what he described as the weaponization of government against him.
Several of Trump’s high-profile critics have faced federal scrutiny and indictments during his second term. Trump was impeached twice by the House while Pelosi held the gavel.
During the exchange, Douthat also raised the example of Erika Kirk, the widow of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who publicly forgave her husband’s alleged killer at his memorial service in September 2025. Douthat reminded Trump that he followed her at that event by saying he hated his opponents and did not want the best for them.
Asked what he believes happens when he dies, Trump said he is a religious person, so in theory he goes to heaven.
When Douthat asked how he would like to be remembered, the president’s answer was characteristically direct: “That I made America great again.”
Supporters praised the answer as refreshingly honest. Conservative commentator Eric Daugherty wrote on X that he had never heard Trump asked such a deep question before, while some online defenders argued Trump’s enemies have spent years making his life miserable.
Others, including some Christian commentators, noted the tension between the president’s remarks and the biblical teaching to forgive one’s enemies.
The forgiveness exchange was one of several memorable moments in the wide-ranging interview, which also touched on the Republican Party’s losses in the midterms and questions about the president’s personal finances.
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