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Trump says he cannot forgive enemies, even for heaven

The former president discussed his afterlife beliefs and capacity for forgiveness in a '60 Minutes' interview.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Trump says he cannot forgive enemies, even for heaven

What this story says

  • Donald Trump expressed a desire to go to heaven but a fear of hell in a '60 Minutes' interview.
  • He stated he cannot guarantee he would forgive political opponents such as James Comey and Nancy Pelosi, even if it were necessary for entry into paradise.
  • Trump admitted to hating some of his enemies and stated this feeling would persist.
  • The interview touched on his survival of two apparent assassination attempts in 2024.

Who covered it

Left 13%(1)Centre 37%(3)Right 50%(4)

Percentages are shares of the 8 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 7 of the 15 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

59/100

Hype

41/100

15 sources · methodology

Thin on the left so far

Only 1 of the 8 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

Donald Trump told CBS's '60 Minutes' that he hopes to go to heaven but fears ending up in hell. The former president discussed his beliefs about the afterlife and his capacity for forgiveness in an interview recorded on 6 November 2026. He stated that while he is a religious person and in theory goes to heaven, he hopes he will get there and does not want to go to hell.

When asked by interviewer Ross Douthat if he could forgive political opponents like former FBI Director James Comey and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, particularly if forgiveness were a requirement for paradise, Trump said he could not give an easy assurance. He described Comey and Pelosi as 'extremely dishonest people' and 'very bad for our country'. When pressed, Trump stated, 'The answer is no. I want to be honest, no.' He added, 'I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will.'

The interview also referenced two incidents in 2024 that were investigated as assassination attempts. One occurred on 13 July 2024, at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a gunman fired towards the stage, killing one spectator and injuring two others. Trump's ear was grazed. The second incident took place on 15 September 2024, at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where a rifle barrel was spotted and a suspect was later arrested. Trump was not injured in this incident.

Disagreement on forgiveness for paradise

While most reports indicate Trump stated he could not forgive his enemies even for paradise, one digest from Mathrubhumi stated, 'I Hate some Enemies, Even on My Deathbed I Won't Forgive Them, I'll Go to heaven.' This phrasing differs from other accounts which focus on his inability to forgive rather than a choice to go to heaven despite not forgiving.

What the coverage left out

None of the left, centre, or right-rated digests mention the specific details of the two assassination attempts in 2024, such as the names of injured parties or specific charges filed against suspects, which were included in the full report from IBTimes UK. The digests also did not include the date the '60 Minutes' interview was recorded or broadcast.

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 2 times, most recently on 9 Nov 2026, 06:15, and will add the sides that appear.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

Trump says he cannot forgive enemies, even for heaven
CBS NewsCentre

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

1 rated outlet

  • The left-rated report from IBTimes UK led with Trump's fears about the afterlife and his inability to forgive political opponents. It detailed his statements about hoping for heaven but fearing hell, and his admission that he hates some enemies and always will. The report explicitly mentioned the two assassination attempts in 2024, naming the locations and dates, and identifying one victim and the charges against a suspect in the second incident. It quoted Trump directly saying, 'I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will.'

Centre

3 rated outlets

  • The centre-rated reports from CBS News and ANSA focused on Trump's statements regarding forgiveness and the afterlife. CBS News highlighted the question of whether Trump could forgive opponents for eternal paradise, quoting his responses including, 'I do hate some of my enemies, and I always will.' ANSA's digest also featured the headline 'Trump, 'I Hope to Go to Heaven, I Don't Want to Go to Hell'.' Internewscast's digest similarly focused on Trump's inability to forgive enemies even if it meant being denied entry to heaven.

Right

4 rated outlets

  • The right-rated reports from New York Post, Tribune India, and news-pravda.com led with Trump's refusal to forgive his enemies, even if it meant being denied entry to heaven. The New York Post digest stated he would rather languish in purgatory than forgive his foes. Tribune India's digest mentioned his admission of hating some enemies and not forgiving them even on his deathbed. vz.ru's digest focused on Trump's hope to go to heaven and his statement that he was not ready to forgive enemies for the sake of it, quoting him saying, 'I really hate some of my enemies.'

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Trump says he cannot forgive enemies, even for heaven?
Of the 8 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 13% are rated left, 37% are rated centre, 50% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 15. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Trump says he cannot forgive enemies, even for heaven left or right?
Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 8 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
Is the coverage of Trump says he cannot forgive enemies, even for heaven biased?
Trump says he cannot forgive enemies, even for heaven is one event reported by 15 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting Trump says he cannot forgive enemies, even for heaven?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered Trump says he cannot forgive enemies, even for heaven?
15 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What did Donald Trump say about going to heaven or hell?
Donald Trump stated he is a religious person and in theory goes to heaven, expressing hope he will get there. He also said he does not want to go to hell.
Could Donald Trump forgive his political opponents for paradise?
Trump indicated he could not guarantee he would forgive political opponents like James Comey and Nancy Pelosi, even if it were necessary for entry into paradise. He described them as 'extremely dishonest people' and 'very bad for our country'.
Did Donald Trump mention the assassination attempts?
Yes, Trump referenced surviving two apparent assassination attempts in 2024 during the interview. The reports mention a shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania and an incident at his golf club in Florida.

Read it at the source

15 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

1

Centre

3

Right

4

Not rated

7

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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