Tillis Down: Don’t Stand on the Tracks When the Train is Coming Through

A door opens in North Carolina for the MAGA agenda after one of its biggest party hindrances runs in terror from a social media post.

In May, I wrote a feature piece highlighting Thom Tillis’s incompetence as one of North Carolina’s Republican U.S. Senators and correctly asserted that his weakness jeopardizes the GOP majority for 2026 and weakens its power as long as he remains in office. From that article:

The second seat belongs to Thom Tillis, who managed to rally his support for Trump’s Cabinet choices but has now fallen on his sword by opposing Ed Martin as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, a role in which he (Martin) has served in on interim status since January. Tillis already has shaky standing with the America First, Trump-loving base of the GOP due to his swamp-supporting positions:

· Tillis is among the most ardent Republican supporters of Ukraine, and has tied negotiations for American border security to Ukraine aid

· He has one of the weakest track records on immigration, has opposed many of President Trump’s highly popular immigration proposals, and deviates severely from the views of his constituents, who gave Trump North Carolina’s electoral votes three elections in a row.

Tillis spiked Martin, who has now been moved over to roles within the Department of Justice, over Martin’s actions in defense of January 6 defendants, whose plight has now been ended thanks to Trump’s executive actions. Tillis had this to say about the dust up:

“I have no tolerance for anybody that entered the building on Jan. 6, and that’s probably where most of the friction was.”

One of the more common questions sent my way has to do with Tillis, and what can be done to replace him in a primary. My response always highlights the importance of not nominating someone who can’t get over with the General Election electorate, like this guy:

Yes, it’s true, I have a lot of theories about the state of our elections many in GOP social circles may not agree with, but Mark Robinson was bad enough that President Trump cut him loose in September 2024, realizing he would be a drag on the ticket. Sure enough, it was President Trump taking North Carolina’s electoral votes with a truckload of Democrats winning the vital statewide offices.

Recently, Tillis has voiced his opposition to Trump’s key legislative play, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which prompted President Trump to push the eject button:

Unfortunately, Tillis’s defiance of party goals is exactly what we’ve seen out of hardcore Trump haters within the GOP for an entire decade. Once people like Tillis see they have no political future, they break the toys and go home – see Jeff Flake, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, and others for prime examples. Lisa Murkowski will be next, and rumors are flying that she will soon declare herself independent and caucus with Democrats, relying on Alaska’s ridiculous Ranked Choice Voting clown show to save her in 2028.

Tillis’s immediate response to President Trump’s opposition to his renomination? To Quit.

Yes, posts were made on social media, and a retirement from politics was announced. Mr. President, may I forward in a few more names for you to post about?

What Did Tillis See?

Trump should remake the old commercial that goes, “can you hear me now?” If you want to talk about power, how about forcing a two-term U.S. Senator from a state that reliably backs Republicans for federal offices to hang it up by lighting up Truth Social?

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My guess is that Tillis saw the same things I see, which is why I named his seat one of just two GOP-held Senate seats that are remotely vulnerable in 2026:

· Pressure to perform

Susan Collins holds the other turbulent seat in Maine, but has managed to hold it down in four reelection campaigns, and by no less than 8.6% each time. That means all eyes would have been on Tillis not to drop the ball, especially once his shoddy electoral history became widespread knowledge.