'I care if you fail and right now we are failing': retiring GOP senator Thom Tillis drops profanity-laced texts to Trump
From the Newshound archive · first published 2 October 2026 · last updated 3 October 2026.
Retiring Republican Senator Thom Tillis has released explosive private texts to President Donald Trump in which he told the president he would not tolerate his 'bulls*' and warned that a direct primary threat would have earned Trump a 'f* yourself' in reply. The messages, due to appear in Tillis's forthcoming memoir 'How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents', were sent on May 22 and June 6 this year. Trump had attacked Tillis on Truth Social that same day as a 'nitpicker' who was 'always fighting against the Republican Party'.
Tillis emerged as one of Trump's most outspoken GOP critics after clashing over the 'Big Beautiful Bill', announcing his Senate retirement in June 2025.
In his June 6 text Tillis told Trump he had NEVER threatened him with a primary challenge, adding: 'Save those threats and head games for cowards and fools.'
The memoir, out October 6, depicts a Trump world where Republicans 'fear crossing him' and loyalists compete to please the president.