Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., took his book tour to several TV programs on Tuesday. The day ended with an appearance on CNN’s “The Source,” where the outgoing senator stood by a string of colorful insults directed at members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet.
Tillis chose not to seek reelection and will leave the Senate when his term ends in January. His pending exit has given him more freedom than his Republican colleagues to criticize Trump and administration officials, and host Kaitlan Collins read several of those criticisms back to him.
Collins quoted from the book, and some of the passages sounded more like lines from a celebrity roast than a senator’s memoir.
“You’re very unsparing, I should note, against a lot of people in the president’s cabinet,” Collins said.
She then went down the list. According to Collins, the book calls Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth the biggest regret of Tillis’ career. Tillis also admits he should have blocked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from becoming health secretary.
Collins noted that the book says Tulsi Gabbard won’t be challenging anyone for president of her local Mensa chapter. It also calls Kristi Noem a “dog murderer.” And it says Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick “is nuttier than squirrel sh*t.”
Tillis did not walk back a word.
“I stand by all that,” he said. “What else you got?”
Collins pressed him on whether he had anything positive to say about the people around the president.
“Is there anyone good that you think Trump has hired?” she asked.
“Yeah, I mean, the majority of people in the cabinet I support,” Tillis said.
Collins pushed back, suggesting the list of officials he had criticized made up the bulk of the president’s Cabinet.
“That’s the majority of his cabinet in his first year!” she said.
“No, it’s not,” Tillis replied.
Despite his sharp words for several administration officials, Tillis argued that Trump will be an asset to Republicans when it comes to motivating the party’s base in the midterm elections.
“The president is a populist president,” Tillis said. “He is gonna do a good job of bringing out that base that’s uniquely motivated by him.”
The senator said the job of reaching other voters falls to the rest of the party.
“Traditional conservatives, traditional Republicans have to do their part to get the other folks out and say, ‘Guys, we’re dealing with populism just like the Democrats did with Biden and with Obama. And we’ve got to get through it. But you don’t abandon your party,'” Tillis said.
The CNN interview capped a busy day of television for Tillis as he promotes the book. While he has not held back in his criticism of several Cabinet members, his message to fellow Republicans heading into the midterms was clear: stick with the party.
With just months left in office, Tillis appears ready to keep speaking his mind about the administration. At the same time, he continues to urge traditional Republicans to turn out and support GOP candidates in November.
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