(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Soon-to-be former Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., expanded on his attacks against President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, suggesting that the Trump-led coalition will disappear from Republican politics once he is out of office.
Tillis, who was forced into retirement amid the prospect of a Trump-endorsed primary challenger, made the remarks in an Oct. 20 interview with Politico while promoting his new book, How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents: The Trouble with Sycophants, Courage Outsourcing, and Partisan Groupthink.
The senator was asked whether Trump has been good for the Republican Party, to which he replied that Trump has “lost sight” in his second administration and has created “a coalition that in my opinion will not stay with Republicans once we go back to traditional Republican platform priorities.”
Tillis added that a traditional Republican platform should consist of “limited government” and a “free market,” while moving away from what he called “market manipulation.” He continued, “These other things that we’re doing now that make no sense to me and make no sense to traditional conservative Republicans.”
Trump’s coalition will not stay with the GOP “once we go back to traditional Republican platform priorities,” Thom Tillis told our @jmart.
Listen to his full interview: https://t.co/0XGlbLfcIC pic.twitter.com/QmTVj4p7tY
— POLITICO (@politico) October 22, 2026
Tillis has long been a Trump critic in the Senate, opposing several of the president’s legislative priorities, including major Medicaid cuts and tax breaks in the One Big Beautiful Bill. He also refused to support the SAVE America Act, one of Trump’s top priorities ahead of the midterm elections.
Tillis has described himself as a traditional conservative. Trump, meanwhile, has said that his brand of conservatism is rooted in common sense, recognizing the shortcomings of previous Republican administrations.
Trump’s populist rhetoric helped propel him to the White House in 2016. He frequently appealed to America’s “forgotten men and women,” criticized both parties’ political establishments and championed an America First agenda.
Tillis, however, believes that coalition will not endure beyond Trump’s presidency.
Asked whether Trump’s movement would survive his departure from politics, Tillis replied, “No, I don’t think so. I think it’s popular. A lot of the elements of the populism that Trump created to expand a base that made him successful running for president, I don’t think that stays with the party long term.”
He then pointed to tariffs as an example, repeating the word: “Tariffs. Tariffs.”
Tillis’ final day in the Senate is set to be Jan. 3, 2027. Republican nominee Michael Whatley and former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper are seeking to replace Tillis this November.
