Senator Thom Tillis said Republicans should not be considered disloyal for disagreeing with President Donald Trump, arguing that some White House officials place too much emphasis on loyalty to Trump and should accept policy differences within the party. The North Carolina Republican made the remarks to reporters on Thursday, adding another chapter to a year-long pattern of public breaks with the Trump administration over the Iran war, Cabinet officials, Justice Department matters and other issues. Newsweek reached out to the White House and Tillis' office for comment.
"I have said that we have got to get away from this one disagreement with the president makes you disloyal," Tillis said. "I've supported the president more than 90 percent of the time on votes that matter. "And other members will have disagreements.
And when they do, they should express them." He then directly criticized what he sees as a culture of ideological conformity around Trump. "People in the White House need to get over a loyalty test or a perfect test," Tillis said. "I'm not here to please the president, I'm here to please the people that voted for me in North Carolina." Tillis argued that Republicans in some states may need to put distance between themselves and the White House if they genuinely disagree with administration policies.
"And if they want to get elected in some states, they probably do need separation, if it's genuine," he said. "If they really believe it, then go out and double down on it." The senator specifically mentioned the war with Iran as an example of an issue in which Republicans may have sincere disagreements with the administration. "But if they believe maybe, maybe we need to look a little bit differently in the Iran war—or pick a subject—that's not being disloyal," Tillis said.
The remarks come after months of increasingly public clashes between Tillis and the Trump administration. In July, Tillis delivered one of the sharpest Republican rebukes of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, telling The Hill that the Pentagon chief had "lost my confidence" amid growing concerns about the handling of the Iran war. "I don't have any confidence in him anymore," Tillis said at the time.
"He's all over the place." He accused Hegseth of micromanaging the Pentagon, pushing out respected military leaders and failing to effectively manage a large organization. Trump quickly defended his defense secretary. I think he's done a great job.
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