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Trump says he ‘doesn’t want to go to hell’ when asked about death in 60 Minutes interview

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Cite

Sommerlad, J. (2026, November 9). Trump says he ‘doesn’t want to go to hell’ when asked about death in 60 Minutes interview. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-hell-60-minutes-interview-midterms-b3081523.html

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The Independent · collected 2026-11-09 · by Joe Sommerlad

Quick Summary

In a 60 Minutes interview, President Donald Trump discussed his views on mortality when asked by correspondent Ross Douthat if he believed he would go to heaven. Trump stated he hopes to avoid going to hell but did not elaborate further on his religious beliefs or legacy. The conversation also touched on the midterm election results and their causes, with Trump attributing some blame to inflation and high gas prices due to his Iran conflict, while downplaying the impact of these issues.
Written by AI on 2026-11-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In his first post-midterm interview since Democrats secured control of both the House and Senate, President Donald Trump spoke with CBS News' 60 Minutes correspondent Ross Douthat on Friday at the White House. The president conceded that his party suffered significant losses in Tuesday’s elections but suggested he might have fared better had he been on the ballot. He attributed Republican defeats to voter disapproval of the ongoing war with Iran and high gas prices, rather than acknowledging broader policy failures. Trump also hinted at potential changes within his administration, including replacements for some top officials like White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who was replaced by longtime aide Stephen Miller on Saturday morning.

Written for “Trump's 2026 Post-Midterms Interview” on 2026-11-09, grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans right (beta estimate) Confidence high
Leaning: leans right for article 138021 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-11-09

Story

Trump's 2026 Post-Midterms Interview
Politics · 6 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
CBS News
Leans right Hedges 18 of 393 claims Outlet record 68/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
6
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3976 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Joe Sommerlad
86 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
President Donald Trump has admitted his federal crackdown on illegal immigrants went too far and may have alienated voters at last week’s midterms, which saw Democrats take back control of Congress.
He said he agreed with Vice President JD Vance’s assessment that the unpopular Iran conflict had cost the GOP support but said he would not hesitate to attack Tehran again if he had his time over while underlining that he is “not looking to” do so currently.
With votes still being counted in the Alaska and Mississippi Senate races and beyond, Democrats currently hold a 54 to 44 majority in the Senate and are projected to win 253 seats in the House to the GOP’s 157. The results come amid a civil war brewing within the Trump administration, with insiders scrambling to assign blame, the president reportedly sounding out advisors on the potential firing of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly on “resignation watch.”
The DOJ is expected to give a press conference at 11 a.m. ET (4 p.m. GMT), it is being reported.
Fox News anchor Jesse Watters has suggested that Democratic midterms wins in deep-red Texas could mean “a Republican will never sniff the White House ever again” – unless the GOP win the state back.
Axios now reports that Vance has been lambasting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for dragging the U.S. back into the Middle East, warning the president that the war was “highly unpopular and could cost Republicans the election,” albeit to no avail.
The midterm elections are over, and that means only one thing: the simmering rivalries in the Republican and Democrat parties will bubble to the surface.
New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler has claimed that not even Jesus Christ could have won re-election in his district after losing his seat in Tuesday’s disaster for the GOP in the midterms.
In another Senate race where votes are still being counted – Mississippi – Democrats believe they could be on course for at least one last major upset, with candidate Scott Colom in with a chance of unseating GOP incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in the traditionally deep red southern state.
Axios now reports that Vance has been lambasting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for dragging the U.S. back into the Middle East, warning the president that the war was “highly unpopular and could cost Republicans the election,” albeit to no avail.
Also by Joe Sommerlad
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 86 articles by Joe Sommerlad →

Topics

Butler CBS News Catholic Iran Republicans

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 6× Douthat PERSON · 5× Iran GPE · 3× Donald Trump PERSON · 2× Butler GPE · 1× CBS News ORG · 1× Catholic NORP · 1× Pennsylvania GPE · 1× Republicans NORP · 1× Ross Douthat PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Perhaps Trump’s most surprising reflection was that his hard-line immigration policies had perhaps been “too tough” and alienated the public, saying he deserved an A+ for closing the border and deporting undocumented migrants who had committed crimes but that people had reacted against the actions taken against illegal immigrants who were making positive contributions to society. The interview was recorded before the president announced Friday that his long-serving White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was stepping aside and being replaced by adviser Stephen Miller but he nevertheless trailed turnover within his top team. “I love my Cabinet,” he told Douthat.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-09
He said he agreed with Vice President JD Vance’s assessment that the unpopular Iran conflict had cost the GOP support but said he would not hesitate to attack Tehran again if he had his time over while underlining that he is “not looking to” do so currently.

Claims (21 extracted, 1 hedged)

President Donald Trump faced questions about his mortality in his first major interview since last week’s crushing midterms defeat for Republicans, saying he doesn’t want to go to hell when he dies. asserted
he → face → hell
Sitting down with correspondent Ross Douthat for Sunday night’s instalment of 60 Minutes on CBS News, the president did concede that inflation and high gas prices sparked by his war with Iran had played a part in his side’s defeat but otherwise reverted to blaming the media, his own candidates and voters for failing to turn out in sufficient numbers. asserted
inflation → sit → numbers
Douthat, a recent addition to the program and a conservative Catholic, eventually invited Trump to reflect on his legacy, abruptly shifting the focus of their conversation by saying: “Let’s talk about death.” asserted
’s → invite → death
After noting that the president had had several brushes with death in recent years – not least when he was clipped in the right ear by a sniper’s bullet while speaking at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024 – Douthat suggested that such experiences must have had “some kind of effect” on his psychology and asked: “What do you think happens when you die?” “Well, I hope I’m missed,” Trump answered with a chuckle. uncertain
Trump → note → chuckle
“I hope I’m missed, I don’t know... asserted
I → hope → ?
I think I’ve done a good job as...” asserted
I → think → job
Pressing him further, the journalist asked: “What do you think happens to Donald Trump when you die? asserted
you → press → Trump
“You mean where I go?,” the president responded. asserted
president → mean → ?
“Well, I’m a religious person, so in theory I go to heaven.” asserted
I → ’m → heaven
“Do you think you are going to heaven?” Douthat asked. asserted
Douthat → think → heaven
“I hope so. asserted
I → hope → ?
I don’t want to go to hell,” Trump answered. asserted
Trump → want → hell
The CBS reporter went on to reference comments Trump made at a memorial for the murdered Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in Arizona last year, when he said of his enemies: “I hate my opponents and I don’t want the best for them.” asserted
I → go → them
Douthat acknowledged that the president had been joking but observed, “I think that facts come through jokes,” to which Trump agreed. asserted
Trump → acknowledge → which
Elsewhere in the interview, the president insisted the economy was in “phenomenal” shape and that it had simply been a matter of inadequate messaging that led the American electorate to believe otherwise. asserted
that → insist → electorate
He said he agreed with Vice President JD Vance’s assessment that the unpopular Iran conflict had cost the GOP support but said he would not hesitate to attack Tehran again if he had his time over while underlining that he is “not looking to” do so currently. asserted
he → say → time
Perhaps Trump’s most surprising reflection was that his hard-line immigration policies had perhaps been “too tough” and alienated the public, saying he deserved an A+ for closing the border and deporting undocumented migrants who had committed crimes but that people had reacted against the actions taken against illegal immigrants who were making positive contributions to society. The interview was recorded before the president announced Friday that his long-serving White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was stepping aside and being replaced by adviser Stephen Miller but he nevertheless trailed turnover within his top team. “I love my Cabinet,” he told Douthat. asserted
he → alienate → Douthat
“[But] I’ll be doing maybe a few changes.” asserted
I → do → changes
Embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would not be among those being moved, Trump clarified, saying of the former Fox News personality: “They want to impeach him. asserted
They → embattle → him
We had two wars, we won both. asserted
we → have → both
We won Venezuela, we won Iran.” asserted
we → win → Iran
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