WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said that his mass deportation of undocumented immigrants was “too tough”, according to an excerpt of an interview with CBS aired Sunday.

Asked about his deportation policy, Trump told CBS’ “60 Minutes”: “I think it was too tough…I think it might be too tough.”

The excerpt was published by CBS on X ahead of a broadcast of the interview on network TV later Sunday. It was recorded after the Republican Party’s heavy loss in midterm elections on Tuesday.

While Trump has won some domestic support for securing the US southern border, his administration’s aggressive push to deport millions of undocumented migrants has drawn widespread criticism.

However, Trump on Friday appointed the architect of that hardline policy, Stephen Miller, as his chief of staff on Friday, signalling a bare-knuckle fightback after the Republican election loss.

Miller has been synonymous with scenes of masked immigration agents committing violence after he backed federal agents who shot and killed two Americans early this year.