#NCSEN26: Tillis tangling w/ Vance, Trump political teams

He’s won two US Senate races by the hair of his chinny-chin-chin.  He’s never seen 50 percent of the vote against a Democrat Senate candidate, but somehow — based on the words coming out of his big mouth —  thinks he is the invincible King of The World.

(*Yeah, fighting publicly with the guys who are the future of the GOP — who will be around DC a lot longer than Scraggly Thom — is a brilliant strategy.  Absolutely brilliant.*)

It appears that political lieutenants to vice-president JD Vance and Donald Trump, Jr. have had some sharp words for our senior US senator.  Of course, ol’ Thom Tillis had ten times as many to give back to them.  Here’s — thanks to a good reliable source — how it apparently all got started:

Okay.   Schwartz is sharing info he has about how weak of a candidate Tillis is.

In 2014, Tillis had to split the conservative vote in the primary.  (His cronies lured Mark Harris into the field to do just that. If TT had dared to be honest and tell us then what we now know about all this crossing the aisle nonsense he’d have never made it past Greg Brannon.) Tillis still couldn’t score 50 percent of the general election vote against a walking-wounded Democrat incumbent and a pizza delivery guy.

In 2020, Donald Trump – running for reelection — got talked into endorsing Tillis and scared off a viable primary challenger.  Tillis still had a closer than expected general election race against a scandal-plagued Democrat nominee.  (Still no 50 percent.)

So, Schwartz has his take on things for 2026.  He has the ear of two of the most influential guys in the national GOP.  It’s certainly worth listening to and considering. But here’s how Tillis reacted:

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., blasted a conservative political consultant with close ties to President Donald Trump’s orbit who questioned whether he could win re-election next year.

Tillis was responding to comments on X by Arthur Schwartz, who said Republicans will “need a new senate candidate in NC” in 2026, pointing to a poll from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling that found Tillis trailing Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper in a hypothetical general election matchup.[…]

Hmmm.  Thommy has been telling us crossing the aisle is a “good thing.” (Now, it’s BAD ????)

MORE:

[…] “The president needs a majority to continue his agenda,” Tillis said in an interview Thursday. “Behavior by people like this guy, it’s the thing that’s the single greatest threat to us to deliver the majority next year.”

Tillis said Schwartz “doesn’t have the temperament to be anywhere around the political circles that guarantee that we come back into a majority next year.”

“Arthur Schwartz is a political hack that should probably just keep on being a smart guy and a billionaire, because he’s a s—– political consultant,” he added. […]

Hmmm.  An “s” word.  *SUPER ????*

MORE:

[…] Tillis won his previous two Senate races in battleground North Carolina by less than 2 percentage points. He formally launched his 2026 re-election campaign last year.

Schwartz responded to NBC News’ social media post about some of Tillis’ critical comments of him by saying on X: “Every Republican senator I know wants Tillis to drop out so we can run a serious candidate who will beat away misfits like Mark Robinson that will get crushed in a general. Maybe Thom should be planning his post senate future instead of reading his mentions on X.”

Robinson, Republicans’ scandal-plagued candidate for governor in North Carolina last year, lost to Democrat Josh Stein by 15 points.

“I have nothing against Tillis; I barely know him,” Schwartz also said on X. “He’s a mediocre candidate with no connection to the Republican base in a critical swing state. If Rs are serious about defending our senate majority we need to start looking for a replacement for Tillis — and we need to start NOW.”

Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate. 

Notably, Schwartz helped shepherd Pete Hegseth’s nomination for defense secretary through the Senate, a process in which Tillis became the key vote to confirm him. […]

It became crystal clear via drive-by media reports that Tillis was no hero in the Hegseth affair.  Also, it appeared that even Majority Leader John Thune is growing weary of *our guy.*

Tillis collaborated with Democrats to try and sink the president’s nominee.  He also collaborated with his fellow RINOs Murkowski and Collins.   The night before the confirmation vote, GOP leadership considered Tillis a no vote.

What happened? I’ll tell you. Thommy Boy got a spanking from the powers-that-be in Trump World.  That’ll change your attitude in a heartbeat.

MORE: 

[…] Hegseth faced allegations of alcohol abuse, a sexual assault and the financial mismanagement of organizations that he led, all of which he denied. Ultimately, three other Republican senators joined all Democrats in voting against his nomination, requiring Vice President JD Vance to break a 50-50 tie. […]

Ted Budd figured out the stuff against Hegseth was all crap early on.  But Thommy had to *investigate.*

MORE:

[…] It’s not clear what Tillis is referring to regarding Schwartz’s being a billionaire. Asked Thursday whether he stands by his vote to confirm Hegseth, Tillis responded, “100%.” […] 

MORE:

[…] He said Schwartz’s “behind-the-scenes behavior” toward him and other senators “is part of the reason why I put Pete Hegseth’s nomination in the balance.” […] 

*Sigh.* Do I really need to whip out my audio and video archive so we can all check out how Thommy Boy treats people *behind the scenes*?   *A little compare-and-contrast session, perhaps?*

MORE:

[…] “Let me do due diligence. Don’t tell me how to do my job,” Tillis said. “And Arthur Schwartz should not even be walking the halls of the White House, in my opinion, based on his behavior. … He wants to flex with me, then we are where we are.”

It is not clear what role, if any, Schwartz plays in the Trump administration. He did not respond to requests for comment about his official role or Tillis’ criticisms of his behavior. The White House also did not respond to a request for comment. […]

I think Schwartz’s message was pretty damn clear.

The Scraggly One needs to stop thinking so much about himself and actually start thinking a little more about the country and his constituents. That’s IF he wants to stay in DC.  (Most of us, for the record, don’t want him back.)

MORE:

[…]In January, when NBC News reported on an affidavit containing allegations against Hegseth signed by his former sister-in-law, Danielle, Schwartz referred to himself as an adviser to Hegseth and a volunteer for the Trump administration. 

Schwartz is a friend of and consultant to Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son. He is facilitating the Senate confirmation process for Elbridge Colby, Trump’s nominee to be Hegseth’s undersecretary of defense for policy. 

Republican members on the Senate Armed Services Committee grilled Colby this week over his stances on Taiwan, China, Iran and NATO allies. Vance appeared before the committee to endorse Colby, whom he called “a friend.”

Tillis said: “Anything that [Schwartz] represents in Congress, he better not have his fingerprints on it, because I’m a reflexive no to anything he represents. That’s how bad I think he is for the president.”[…]

Wow. Voting against something because Schwartz is associated with it?  SO, I guess that legitimates voting against anybody named Tillis or anyone who has been seen in close association with Tillis. 

(*Think long and hard before adding your name to that Tillis fundraiser invite.*)

A close adviser to the vice president had to chime in on this:

[…] Andrew Surabian, a Republican strategist affiliated with Vance, also responded to Tillis’ comments, posting on X: “What kind of s—– campaign is @ThomTillis running that he attacks someone who no one in NC has ever heard of over a tweet? While Arthur isn’t a billionaire, he is indeed a smart guy. We have worked together for years overseeing all of Don Jr.’s political activities. Not smart!” […] 

No, it ISN’T.   

We still apparently have some head-scratching to do over Ted Budd.  He may have the most conservative voting record in the NC congressional delegation – which, these days, isn’t saying much — but ol’ Ted seems to be getting advised that “Tillis hill” is a good one to die on:

[…] Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., backed Tillis during an interaction with reporters Thursday in the Capitol.

“I endorsed Thom a long time ago. Look, I’ve known him long before he was ever in this role and supported him. He’s a great partner for the state,” Budd said. “He’s tough, I’ll tell you.” […]

I am getting word that Budd is shedding his old House Freedom Caucus ties like Clark Kent changing clothes to be Superman.  A lot of the old Freedom Caucus types say they don’t hear from Ted anymore.  Some senators — you can guess who — still liaise with the House Freedom Caucus on a regular basis.  Ted doesn’t. (You need help from the House to get stuff passed into law.)

So, are all the fanboys at NCGOP HQ now following Thom Tillis down the road to war with the JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr. camps?