'I think so, yeah': Trump confirms on '60 Minutes' that Maduro's days as dictator are numbered

Donald Trump confirmed that Nicolás Maduro's days as dictator of Venezuela are numbered. The president made the statement in an interview with CBS News' "60 Minutes," his first in five years. At the same time, while discussing the military actions in the Caribbean, he clarified that the United States would not enter into a war with the South American country.

In a dialogue with Norah O'Donnell, the president discussed the government shutdown, the work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Zohran Mamdani, the Supreme Court's decision on tariffs, and his relationship with China, among other topics. The interview was recorded on October 31 at Mar-a-Lago.

However, one answer about Venezuela drew particular attention. The journalist first mentioned to him the important military deployment in the Caribbean, then asked Trump if the situation could escalate into a war.

"I doubt it. I don't think so. But they've been treating us very badly, not only on drugs-- they've dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country that we didn't want, people from prisons-- they emptied their prisons into our compan-- country. (...) And every one of those boats that you see shot down-- and I agree, it's a terrible thing-- but every one of those boats kills 25,000 Americans. Every single boat that you see that's shot down kills 25,000 on drugs and destroys families all over our country," the Republican responded.

Moments later, O'Donnell asked specifically about Maduro's future: "Specifically on Venezuela, are Maduro's days as president numbered?" "I would say yeah. I think so, yeah," Trump replied.

"The government shutdown is the fault of the Democrats"

The president also weighed in on the government shutdown, which is on track to be the longest in history. The record is still held by the 2019 shutdown, also under Trump's presidency, which lasted a total of 35 days.

"Republicans vote almost unanimously in favor of ending it, and Democrats keep voting against it. You know, they've never had this. This has happened like 18 times before. The Democrats always voted for an extension, always saying, 'Give us an extension, we'll figure it out,'" he said

He further asserted that the Democrats have become "crazed lunatics" and rudderless.

Vance, Rubio and the 2028 presidential election

During the interview, there was also time to speculate on the 2028 presidential election. Since Trump will be limited by the Constitution and will not be able to compete, there is speculation of a close Republican primary to succeed him. Indeed, it will be the first time since 2012 that Trump will not head the GOP ticket.

While not in favor of naming names, he specifically mentioned JD Vance and Marco Rubio as possible successors, emphasizing that Republicans have an "incredible bench" with highly valuable individuals.

"Mamdani is much worse than a socialist"

Days ahead of the New York mayoral election, the president described Zohran Mamdani as "much worse than a socialist." When it came to choosing between Andrew Cuomo and the young progressive, he assured that he prefers the "bad Democrat."

In turn, in case of a Mamdani triumph, Trump anticipated that he could make "(Bill) De Blasio look great."

"I got to see de Blasio, how bad a mayor he was, and this man will do a worse job than de Blasio by far. And it's gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York. Because if you have a Communist running New York, all you're doing is wasting the money you're sending there," he added.

Iran "has no nuclear capabilities"

Recalling the strikes it launched in June against nuclear facilities in Iran in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, Trump assured that the country no longer has nuclear capability.

Regarding the agents who carried out the operation, he stated that they had been waiting for years for a Commander-in-Chief to authorize it.

"These are really amazing people, and talented people. When you can hit at midnight with no moon, with no vision, every single air shaft, where that bomb went deep into that mountain and exploded and beat the hell out of it," he added.

Trump and the work of ICE

The Republican also highlighted the work of ICE agents, remarking that the goal is to get criminals out of the country and that they still have a long way to go.

"You have to look at the people. Many of them are murderers. Many of them are people that were thrown outta their countries because they were, you know, criminals. Many of them are people from jails and prisons. Many of them are people from frankly mental institutions. I feel badly about that, but they're released from insane asylums. You know why? Because they're killers," the president explained.