He also floats the idea that illegal aliens who’ve been here ten or fifteen years and been law-abiding ought to be given some sort of status that allows them to stay.

Here is the excerpt from the interview:

Trump endorses an amnesty deal with Democrats, saying immigration maximalists are on the “pretty far right” and suggesting that illegals who have been in the US for 10-15 years should have an opportunity to stay.

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— AF Post (@AFpost) November 9, 2026

When Trump took office for the second time and announced his intent to close the border and deport illegal aliens, I believed (and I said to people I know) that he would concentrate on deporting actual criminals, not just criminals in the sense of having entered the country illegally. I believed that was what most Americans wanted, and that if the border was simultaneously closed and stayed closed (which would probably require the right to retain power, or it would open again), that would be sufficient. Deportation of all eleven million or twenty million illegal aliens was probably possible, but it would cause a huge backlash.

Mostly, Trump did what I wanted. But – as always was the danger – some people were deported whose only crime was entering the country, and whose stories were going to be amplified by the press and the left. Plus, the methods used were sometimes draconian, and some protestors were killed (probably killed in self-defense, but maybe not in some cases and in any event it was something that could and would be exploited by the left).

I think Trump is correct when he indicates in that video that the majority of people don’t want the abuela down the street deported – the lady who has never committed a crime other than her original illegal entry into this country. And it is absolutely the case that deporting such people will present the left with a golden opportunity to make the right look bad.

That’s been the case for a long long long time, as long as I’ve been blogging and even earlier. I’ve never come up with a solution for it.

How much of last Tuesday’s results were because of this? I think it was in there, but can’t quantify to what extent. I think “affordability” – which I feel was a brilliant campaign tactic by the left – was a larger factor. But I also think Trump is correct in that clip in terms of observation, whether you like what he says or not.

And I think any compromise on his part on this score will alienate a large portion of the right, as such moves from Republicans always have.

Whether or not Trump will actually change policy on this is anyone’s guess. He often floats ideas to see what will happen. Maybe he even wants to suggest such a compromise with the left because he’s hoping they’ll refuse to compromise, and that will end up making them look bad.

I don’t know.