US President Donald Trump has said he hopes to go to heaven after his death, describing himself as a religious person. However, in a candid interview with CBS News’ ’60 Minutes’, he admitted that he may not be able to forgive some of his political adversaries, even if forgiveness were a condition for entering paradise.
Asked what he believed would happen after his death and whether he thought he would reach heaven, Trump said, “I’m a religious person, so in theory, I go to heaven…I hope so. I don’t want to go to hell.”
His remarks drew a response from evangelistic preacher Franklin Graham, who said that entering heaven required people to acknowledge their sins and seek forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ.
“Toward the end of the interview, they talked about something far more important than politics. He asked the President, at 80 years of age and after surviving multiple assassination attempts, what he thinks will happen when he dies. President Trump said he wants to go to Heaven, and not to Hell. Most people, if asked, I believe would say the same. But Heaven has borders. Heaven has unique and very strict entrance requirements. To enter Heaven, the Bible tells us that you must acknowledge your sins, turn from them in repentance, and receive Jesus Christ by faith… Religion can’t save you, only a relationship with the Savior, Jesus Christ, can save you. Do you have that assurance?” Graham wrote in a post on X.
During the interview, Trump was also asked whether he could forgive political opponents, including former FBI Director James Comey and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, if doing so meant securing a place in heaven.
“Well, then I wouldn’t be real, would I?” Trump replied, describing the two as “extremely dishonest people, very bad people, very bad for our country”.
When asked directly whether he would refuse to forgive them, Trump said: “The answer is no. I want to be honest, no.”
The interviewer pressed him further, asking whether, after an extraordinary life and political career, he could find it in his heart to forgive his adversaries before facing divine judgement.
“Can I be honest?” Trump said. “I probably cannot do that, no, because I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will.”
The exchange was part of a wide-ranging interview in which Trump also discussed his administration’s immigration policies, political decisions and the Republican Party’s setbacks in the November 3 midterm elections.
On immigration, the President acknowledged that his administration’s enforcement measures may have been “too tough”, particularly in cases involving undocumented immigrants who had lived and worked in the US for several years.
He also expressed a willingness to work with congressional Democrats on immigration legislation, saying: “I’d love to do something on immigration.”
Trump has survived multiple assassination attempts during his political career. In July 2024, he was injured when a bullet grazed his right ear during a shooting at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
(With ANI inputs)
