President Donald Trump in an interview that aired Sunday agreed that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s “days as president are numbered.”

Trump sat for an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” his first interview with the program in five years. CBS correspondent Norah O’Donnell asked the president about the future of Maduro, who Trump first demanded step down in 2018, leading Venezuela.

“On Venezuela in particular, are Maduro’s days as president numbered?” O’Donnell asked.

Trump replied: “I would say yeah. I think so, yeah.”

Reports late last week suggested that the Trump administration has looked at land targets in Venezuela to strike as part of its escalating efforts to crack down on drug trafficking to the United States. The targets reportedly consist of military assets that have been used in the drug trade.

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Trump said last month that he has approved CIA operations in Venezuela to counter the drug trade and Maduro, whom his administration has identified as a top cartel leader and imposed a $50 million bounty on.

Trump dismissed O’Donnell’s questions regarding any plans to launch military strikes on Venezuelan territory.

“I’m not saying it’s true or untrue,” said Trump of reports of potential strikes.

“I wouldn’t be inclined to say that I would do that. But – because I don’t talk to a reporter about whether or not I’m gonna strike,” said Trump. “You’re a wonderful reporter, you’re very talented, but I’m not going to tell you what I’m going to do with Venezuela, if I was gonna do it, or if I wasn’t going to do it.”

Trump also played coy when asked about his decision last week to deploy the USS Gerald R Ford carrier and its strike group to the Caribbean. The Ford is the newest and most advanced aircraft carrier in the U.S. fleet.

“It’s gotta be somewhere. It’s a big one,” Trump said when asked what purpose the Ford serves in the Caribbean.

Norah O’Donnell: “Is it about stopping narcotics or is it about getting rid of [Venezuelan dictator Nicolás] Maduro?”

President Trump: “This is about many things.”

Norah O’Donnell: “Are Maduro’s days as president numbered?”

President Trump: “I would say yeah, I think so,… pic.twitter.com/RBdCwn5xW2

— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) November 3, 2025

President Donald Trump denied that recent prosecutions against some of his most vocal critics amount to “political retribution,” saying the accused “were so dirty, they were so crooked” that prosecution was necessary.

Trump sat for an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” his first interview with the program in five years. CBS correspondent Norah O’Donnell asked the president about recent Justice Department cases brought against his former national security adviser John Bolton, former FBI chief James Comey, and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Asked if the prosecutions amount to retribution, Trump reminded O’Donnell that he was indicted first.

“You know who got indicted? The man you’re looking at. I got indicted, and I was innocent. And here I am, because I was able to beat all of the nonsense that was thrown at me,” Trump responded.

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“These people are scum. And yet, when you go after a dirty cop like Comey or a guy like Bolton, who I hear has, I don’t know anything about it, I hear he took records all over the place,” Trump continued. “Letitia James is a terrible, dishonest person, in my opinion. Terrible. I just won the case against her. She wanted me to pay $500 million for something I didn’t do anything wrong on. And the judge just overturned the decision.”

Comey was indicted in September on charges of ​​giving false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding. The charges against Comey stem from testimony he delivered to Congress in 2020 on his handling of the FBI investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Bolton was indicted last month. The former national security adviser was charged on 18 counts of retention and transmission of national defense information. According to the indictment, Bolton shared classified information over his personal email, which was later hacked by Iran.

James was also charged last month over a loan she received in 2023 for a mortgage on a house in Virginia. James allegedly claimed the Virginia home as her primary residence when, as New York’s attorney general, she was required to live in the state of New York. The home instead was occupied by a relative of James.

All three defendants have denied the charges against them.

Trump denied that he instructed Justice Department officials to investigate or charge any of the defendants.

“You don’t have to instruct them because they were so dirty, they were so crooked, they were so corrupt that the honest people we have … go after them automatically,” said Trump.

“I think I’ve been very mild-mannered. You’re looking at a man who was indicted many times, and I had to beat the rap,” says President Trump after the recent indictments of high-profile figures who have publicly denounced him. https://t.co/XHoIr77Eh1 pic.twitter.com/tLH0fxW2wI

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) November 3, 2025