Trump on 60 Minutes: says he could work with Democrats "very easily" without insulting them, then repeats "Dumbocrats" (Nov. 8, 2026) Case In a 60 Minutes interview with Ross Douthat aired Nov. 8, 2026, Trump was asked whether he could work with Democrats without insulting them. He said he could, "Very easily," while saying he also calls many of them "Dumbocrats." He acknowledged calling Texas Sen.-elect James Talarico "Talafreako" and said he does "hate some of my enemies and I always will." His opening answer on why Republicans lost the midterms included claims about rallies and Iowa gas prices that are checked below. The exchange (60 Minutes, aired Nov. 8, 2026) Interviewer Ross Douthat said Texas Sen.-elect James Talarico had said on Fox News he wanted to work with Trump on immigration, and added: "you did occasionally call him Talafreako." Trump replied: "Yeah, I did." Douthat asked: "Do you think you could work with the Democrats without insulting them... consistently?" Trump answered: "Yeah, I do... I could." Trump continued: "I also call-- I also... call many of them Dumbocrats." Douthat noted he had done so "just-- the other day." Douthat asked whether, if it took six months of not insulting Democrats to get a deal done, Trump could do it. Trump answered: "Very easily." On his enemies Asked whether he could forgive enemies such as James Comey and Nancy Pelosi, Trump said they were "extremely dishonest people. Very bad people. Very bad for our country." Pressed on whether the answer is no, he said: "The answer is no. I want to be honest." Trump said: "I do hate some of my enemies and I always will." Opening answer on the midterms: claims checked Asked for his analysis of the Republican defeat, Trump began: "Well, number one, I was not on the ballot. But I campaigned hard for some people." He was not on the 2026 ballot. Trump said of his rallies that "there wasn't one room that didn't have thousands of people outside, couldn't get in." No independent count of crowds outside his rallies was found in the sources reviewed, so the claim is unverified here. On gas prices, Trump said that in Iowa the price had been "$1.85 cents a gallon" (the official transcript's wording), and that today's price, which he put at "three and a half, $4," is still lower than under Biden or Obama. AAA's national average was about $4.01 as of Nov. 9, 2026, down from about $4.10 on Nov. 5 and up from about $3.08 a year earlier; AAA noted the national average had never exceeded $4 in a November before 2026. In a June 9, 2026 fact check of an earlier Trump gas claim, CNN reported the national average then ($4.16) was higher than on about 91% of Biden's days in office, below only Biden's June 2022 peak of $5.02, and that Trump's cited Iowa $1.85 figure likely referred to E85 ethanol blend; regular gas in Iowa averaged $2.57 that day. The national average just before the Iran war began in late February was $2.98. These figures are as of June and were not re-checked for November, and the Obama comparison was not checked. Other claims in this interview, checked Trump said, "I've settled eight wars." An AP fact check of the same claim (written after Dec. 27, 2025) called it exaggerated: two of the eight conflicts were never wars, and several others, including Israel-Hamas, Rwanda-Congo and Armenia-Azerbaijan, were unresolved or unfinished at the time. Their status may have changed since. Trump said, "you had 11,888 murderers" let in. CNN's Daniel Dale, responding to the February 2026 State of the Union version of the claim, called it a "wild distortion of federal data": the figure covers non-citizens who entered over several decades, including during Trump's first term, who were convicted of homicide at some point, usually after arriving, and many are now in prison or jail. The Nov. 8 version was not separately checked. Trump said stocks lost nearly 2,000 points "because of the Democrats." CBS reported the Dow fell 1,833 points (3.4%) on Nov. 5 after posting its biggest gain of the year on Nov. 4, and that analysts tied the drop to worries that Democratic control of Congress could slow data-center construction and tighten AI regulation, alongside concerns about an AI bubble; CBS did not state a dollar value lost. On jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Nov. 6, as summarized by StockTitan, showed 165,000 jobs added in October against a 59,000 economist forecast, with unemployment at 4.1%. The summary notes BLS's margin of error for monthly payroll change is about 122,000 jobs. Trump's own figures on the beat were not checked against the transcript. Trump said of the Iran and Venezuela operations: "This war, seven months, 18 people killed. That includes Venezuela, 18." The Pentagon's casualty system, as reported by Military Times on Nov. 4, listed 23 U.S. service members killed in the Iran conflict (including 4 listed as non-hostile overseas deaths), with 866 wounded; that report does not mention Venezuela. An MS NOW analysis of a similar remark also says the administration's own tally is higher. On Ukraine, Trump said the 2020 election "was rigged. That's why I did it a third time, because it was rigged." The transcript contains no evidence offered for the claim. Other parts of the interview are covered in separate entries: pardons and Jan. 6; border, "25 million," Ukraine-aid and D.C. crime claims; and World Liberty Financial and Trump's net worth. Perspectives Official position — President Trump (in the interview) Trump's position in the interview is that he can work with Democrats and could refrain from insulting them if that produced a deal, answering "Very easily." He pointed out that Talarico and other Democrats, including one from South Carolina, had said nice things about him and wanted to work together on issues such as immigration. Expert view — CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale and AAA data CNN's fact check of Trump's earlier gas-price claims found they were true only against Biden's June 2022 peak and that the Iowa $1.85 figure likely referred to E85, not regular gasoline. AAA data show the national average at about $4 in early November 2026, versus about $3.08 a year earlier. These sources address gas prices only; they do not speak to the rest of the interview. Defender — President Trump (on the midterm losses) Trump's case is that he was not on the ballot, that his rallies drew huge crowds, that voters were unhappy about the Iran war and gas prices, and that the economy's numbers are strong but his message did not reach voters. He said his gas-price comparison was that prices, at "three and a half, $4," remain lower than under Biden and Obama. Note Trump says he can work with Democrats without insulting them and notes that some Democrats, including Talarico, have said nice things about him; the transcript does not show him disavowing the nicknames. Sources [1] CBS News — Full transcript of Ross Douthat's interview with President Trump (60 Minutes) (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/read-the-full-transcript-of-ross-douthats-interview-with-president-trump/) · 2026-11-08 [2] Roll Call Factba.se — Interview: Ross Douthat of CBS News' 60 Minutes Interviews Donald Trump (https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-interview-ross-douthat-cbs-news-60-minutes-november-8-2026/) · 2026-11-08 [3] CBS News — 10 takeaways from Trump's 60 Minutes interview (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/10-takeaways-from-trump-60-minutes-interview/) · 2026-11-08 [4] CNN (via Yahoo) — Fact check: The average US gas price is higher today than during 91% of Biden's presidency (https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/fact-check-average-us-gas-164335804.html) · 2026-06-09 [5] AAA — National Average Falls 12 Cents in One Week (Nov. 5, 2026) (https://gasprices.aaa.com/national-average-falls-12-cents-in-one-week/) · 2026-11-05 [6] MS NOW (via Yahoo) — 8 months into the war with Iran, Trump remains ignorant about U.S. fatalities and costs (https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/8-months-war-iran-trump-152359015.html) · 2026-11-03 [7] AP (via Yahoo) — FACT FOCUS: Trump says he's ended eight wars. His numbers are off (https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/fact-focus-trump-says-hes-181604143.html) · 2025-12 [8] CNN's Daniel Dale (via Yahoo/Mediaite) — Trump's '11,000 murderers' claim is 'nonsense' (https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/nonsense-cnn-fact-checker-daniel-163825053.html) · 2026-02-25 [9] CBS News — Dow sheds more than 1,800 points as midterm results spur investor exodus from tech and AI (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stocks-midterm-elections-tech-companies-ai-data-centers/) · 2026-11-05 [10] Military Times — Amid Iran conflict, 'non-hostile' deaths of 2 US airmen raise overseas toll to 23 (https://www.militarytimes.com/news/2026/11/04/amid-iran-conflict-non-hostile-deaths-of-2-us-airmen-raise-overseas-toll-to-23/) · 2026-11-04 [11] StockTitan — Jobs Report Today Shows 165,000 Jobs Added and Unemployment at 4.1% (October 2026) (https://www.stocktitan.net/articles/october-2026-jobs-report) · 2026-11-06 Connections Same context — Fact-check: Trump's border, "25 million," Ukraine-aid and D.C. crime claims in his Nov. 8 60 Minutes and Nov. 9 C-SPAN interviews Fact-check of other claims from the same Nov. 8 60 Minutes interview. Same context — Trump on 60 Minutes: "I know nothing about" World Liberty Financial, which he co-owns, and its UAE-linked investors (update, Nov. 8, 2026) Another segment of the same Nov. 8 Douthat interview. Same context — Trump on 60 Minutes: "tremendous numbers of pardons," self-pardon "not unreasonable," Jan. 6 rioters "rough to them too," and an unnamed AI chief told to "go to jail" (Nov. 8, 2026) Different segments of the same Nov. 8 Douthat interview. Same actor — Trump's documented degrading and dehumanizing statements about people (hub) Trump acknowledges, on the record, his nicknames for Democrats; verbatim quotes here are ready to move into the hub.