GOP Senator’s Confrontational, Profanity-Laced Text Messages to Trump Revealed in New Book

Outgoing GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina has made no secret of his fiery opposition to President Donald Trump, but in a bid to sell a new book, he’s making some messages even more public.

According to Politico reporter Adam Wren, Tillis sent expletive-laced text messages to Trump earlier this year that are set to be included in a book Tillis is releasing about his political career.

The book is titled “How to Lose Friend and Antagonize Presidents,” and the texts Tillis reportedly included to Trump are excellent examples of both.

In one, Tillis reportedly wrote that he does not take “bulls***” — presumably including from the president. In another, according to Wren, Tillis wrote that he would have told the president to “f*** yourself” had Trump threatened him with a primary challenger. But the president did make such a threat immediately before the senator announced he was not seeking re-election.

Tillis announced on June 29, 2025, that he would not seek re-election after voting against the president’s signature piece of legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Tillis joined fellow GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky, with the North Carolinian citing the cuts made to Medicaid, according to The Assembly, a North Carolina-based news site.

Trump posted on social media at the time, “Thom Tillis is making a BIG MISTAKE for America and the Wonderful People of North Carolina.” In another post, Trump wrote that he is, “looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina and, so importantly, the United States of America.”

Tillis announced he was not seeking re-election the following day, according to NBC News.

The senator has been a frequent thorn in Trump’s side since. This past spring he held up the president’s nominee to replace Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chairman, though he ultimately voted to confirm Kevin Warsh to the position.

Further, the senator played hardball during the confirmation process of Todd Blanche as attorney general, pointing to a proposed anti-weaponization fund that Trump backed for Jan. 6 defendants and others who believed the Biden Justice Department wrongfully targeted them.

The anti-weaponization fund was ultimately scrapped, and no payments were made.

Tillis has criticized Trump in other matters like the Iran war, too. He reportedly wrote in a May 22 text that, “I still want to help but I don’t take this bulls*** from anyone, including you Mr. President. Save that sh** for the cowards who don’t care if you fail. I care if you fail and right now we are failing.”

According to Mediaite, that “appeared to be a direct response to a broadside Trump posted earlier that day, in which the president branded the Republican ‘weak and ineffective,’ a ‘Nitpicker,’ and a ‘QUITTER.’”

Further, in a June 6 text to Trump, Tillis countered the notion that the president’s threat of backing a primary challenger is what caused him to not seek re-election.

“As I have said before, you NEVER threatened me with a primary challenge. I get that you may have me confused with so many Republicans that you have threatened in the past, but NEVER me. If you had ever threatened me directly with a primary, I would have immediately told you to f*** yourself, and I would have announced my retirement immediately. Save those threats and head games for cowards and fools,” the senator wrote.

However, as noted above, the announcement that he was not seeking re-election came the day after Trump posted that he was “looking for someone who will properly represent the Great People of North Carolina.”

The Federalist’s Sean Davis posted on X in response to the June 6 text, “This is so cringey and pathetic that it almost makes me embarrassed for Tillis. Is Tillis a moody, angsty tween?”

Mediaite noted that Tillis is preparing to release his new book next week, so the publishing of the texts is apparently designed to drum up interest in the work.

The Amazon description of the publication says, “Outspoken and uncensored, North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis pulls no punches about his time in Washington and how the sycophants surrounding President Trump, spineless Republican yes-men (and -women), and the weirdos of the MAGA world can’t get out of their own way.”

Tillis was first elected to the Senate in 2014 and reelected in 2020.

Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.