Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) issued President Donald Trump a blunt reality check on Friday that he may face “the most miserable two years” of his life should Republicans perform poorly in the upcoming midterm elections — a warning that apparently didn’t sit well with Trump.
The president quickly took to social media to lash out at the North Carolina Republican.
“People don’t remember that Thom Tillis, the weak and ineffective Senator from the Great State of North Carolina, a State I won, including primaries, 6 consecutive times, didn’t have the courage to fight it out in the Senate, remain in place, and run again for office, a thing he desperately wanted to do,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
“I called him a ‘Nitpicker,’ always fighting against the Republican Party, and ME, mostly on things that didn’t matter. When I told him that I would not, under any circumstances, endorse him for another run, too much work and drama (he couldn’t have won, anyway!), he immediately quit the race and publicly announced that he was going to ‘retire.’”
Since Tillis announced his plans to retire, he’s remained a thorn in the side for the president, often breaking with his colleagues in openly criticizing Trump, most recently over his nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, which could see violent Jan. 6 Capitol rioters receive large payouts using taxpayer dollars.
“Stupid on stilts,” Tillis recently said, describing the Justice Department’s Trump-backed “anti-weaponization” fund.
“The media said how brave he was to take me on, but he wasn’t brave, he was just the opposite – HE WAS A QUITTER!” Trump continued. “Now he can have all the fun he wants for a few months, with some of his RINO friends, screwing the Republican Party. In the end it will only get bigger, and better, and stronger, than ever before!!!”