President Donald Trump insisted he does “hate” some of his political enemies and declared that he will never forgive them, even if doing so were the only way to secure his place in heaven.
The president made the startling admission during a tense exchange with CBS News correspondent Ross Douthat on 60 Minutes Sunday, insisting that his hatred for certain political opponents would remain, including when he faces God’s judgment.
The interview marked Trump’s first sit-down since Republicans suffered sweeping defeats in last week’s midterm elections, losing control of both chambers of Congress.
Douthat, questioning Trump about his mortality after surviving assassination attempts, asked what he believed would happen to him after death. After initially answering that he hoped he would be “missed,” the president was pressed further.
“Not your memory, yourself,” Douthat said.
“OK. You mean where I go?” Trump asked.
“Exactly,” the journalist said.
“Well, I’m a religious person, so in theory I go to heaven,” Trump replied.
Asked whether he expected to reach heaven, the president added: “I hope so. I don’t want to go to hell.”
Douthat then recalled the September 2025 memorial service for conservative activist Charlie Kirk, where his widow, Erika Kirk, spoke about Christian forgiveness and publicly forgave her husband’s alleged killer.
At that same event, Trump followed her remarks by saying: “I hate my opponents and I don’t want the best for them.”
“I know this was a little bit of a joke, but I think facts come through jokes,” Douthat said.
The 60 Minutes correspondent asked whether Trump could find it within himself to forgive political adversaries, including former FBI director James Comey and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, if that were the condition for entering eternal paradise.
Comey oversaw the FBI’s investigation into possible links between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, while Pelosi served as House Speaker during both impeachment proceedings.
“Well, then I wouldn’t be real, would I? I mean, if I said to you, sure, the easy answer to that is, ‘Oh, yes, I could forgive,’” Trump responded, as the journalist admitted it was not an “easy question.”
“I found them to be extremely dishonest people, very bad people, very bad for our country. I love our country far more than I can love people and people like that,” the president added.
“Let’s say you pass away, you’re entering the next life, and all you have to do to enter paradise is feel love and forgiveness for James Comey, Nancy Pelosi, anyone who you have expressed hate for over the years. Do you think you can do it?”
“Well, then I wouldn’t be real, would I? I mean, if I said to you, sure, the easy answer to that is, ‘Oh, yes, I could forgive,’” Trump responded, as the journalist admitted it was not an “easy question.”
“I found them to be extremely dishonest people, very bad people, very bad for our country. I love our country far more than I can love people and people like that,” the president added.
“Is the answer ‘no,’ then?” Douthat asked.
“The answer is no,” Trump said. “I want to be honest. No. I think it would-”
“Before the judgment throne of God?” the journalist pressed.
“Before the judgment,” Trump affirmed. “No, I think they were very bad people, and I dislike — I can use the word ‘hate’ — I do hate some of my enemies. I think they’ve been terrible. Look what they’ve put me through, the weaponization. I got indicted, I got impeached.”
“Mr. President,” Douthat interrupted. “You have had the most charmed and remarkable life of any American in my entire lifetime, and you are telling me that before the judgment throne of God you couldn’t find it in your heart to forgive some of your enemies? After all that’s been given to you? Come on. Help me out here.”
“I mean, it’s such an easy answer. All I have to do is say, ‘Yes, I can,’” the president doubled down.
Asking if he could be honest, Douthat said he could, and Trump followed: “I probably cannot do that, no, because I do hate some of my enemies and I always will.”
The interview ended with Douthat asking how Trump hoped his presidency would be remembered a century from now, while he was hypothetically in purgatory.
“That I made America great again,” Trump replied.
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