Tillis told truth. Now, can he regain his dignity?

Tillis repeatedly embarrassed himself to curry favor with Trump.

Yesterday, Thom Tillis told the truth. He stood on the Senate floor and blasted the so-called big, beautiful bill. “What do I tell 663,000 people in two years, three years, when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of medicaid because the funding's not there anymore, guys?” he asked. Now, we’ll see if he can recover his dignity.

It’s not the first time Tillis has called out his party, but it may be the first time he doesn’t follow up by either contradicting himself or making some sort of embarrassing gesture to gain Donald Trump’s favor. For years, I’ve been complaining that Thom Tillis knows what’s right and does what’s wrong. Now that he’s not a candidate, maybe he will do what he knows is right. I sure hope so.

Despite what a lot of Republicans would tell you, Tillis was never a very savvy politician. He got very lucky twice. He won in a Republican wave year to barely defeat incumbent Kay Hagan in 2014 and won re-election in 2020 when he inched out Cal Cunningham who was fighting off a sex scandal in the wake of #MeToo. He never became the leader he could have been.

By all accounts, Tillis is a likable, good-natured guy. He rose to prominence after his second term in the North Carolina House when he traveled the state helping elect Republicans in 2010. His good will allowed him to jump the line and become Speaker ahead of more senior House members.

Tillis came from the country club wing of the GOP, solidly in the mold of Reagan Republicans who cared more about low taxes than social issues. He was unprepared for the emerging populist wing of the party and got rolled by his counterparts in the North Carolina Senate. Tillis might have led the House, but Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger drove the legislative agenda. Tillis and Governor Pat McCrory, who both hailed from Mecklenburg County, often looked like they were just along for the ride.

When Tillis first went to the US Senate, he largely kept his head down. He worked across the aisle to pass some legislation and built a reputation as a deal-maker. He never really warmed to Trump, but rarely voiced criticism in the early days of the first Trump administration.

Then, in 2019, Trump declared a national emergency in order to build the wall on the Southern border. Tillis infamously wrote an op-ed criticizing the move and vowing not to support it in an upcoming vote. After pressure from Trump and his allies, Tillis voted against his own op-ed in what one columnist described as “a flip-flop for the ages.” He sold his soul for a Trump endorsement to ward off a 2020 primary threat.

For the remainder of his time in the Senate, Tillis has taken stands to do the right thing and then either folded embarrassingly or humiliated himself by shamelessly pandering to Trump. Instead of looking like a MAGA loyalist, he looked like a phony. He lost the respect of everybody, especially Trump.

Tillis had an opportunity to cut a unique path for himself and the moderate wing of the GOP. He could have stood by principle consistently, supporting Trump when he agreed with him while opposing the President’s worst instincts. He may have angered the Trumpists regularly, but he probably would have earned their grudging respect. Trump, in particular, admires people who look tough, not people who look weak.

Instead, Tillis sacrificed his dignity to curry favor. He supported a bunch of Cabinet picks he knew were unqualified, trying not to antagonize MAGA. He refused to defend Zelensky after Vance and Trump attacked him despite defending Ukraine on the Senate floor just days earlier. He slammed Trump’s tariffs, but when he had a chance to put a check on Trump, he chickened out. After so much flip-flopping and pandering, voters quit taking him seriously. He lost the respect of both sides.

Now, maybe Tillis can regain some of his dignity. He can stand up for what he believes and become the symbol of Reagan Conservatism fighting for life under a MAGA assault. He could leave the Senate calling out the crazy in his party, pushing back against the isolationists, and embracing a true fiscal conservatism that addresses the debt and deficit. Then, he could return to North Carolina as an elder statesman, playing the role of an Alan Simpson or George Mitchell, the person Republicans call on to address complex problems that require gravitas and thoughtful consideration.

Or he can continue putting out juvenile tweets in an effort to gain MAGA’s approval.