Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) issued a stark warning Sunday about how President Donald Trump could respond if Republicans suffer a bruising defeat in the 2026 midterm elections in November.
During an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” correspondent Ross Douthat asked Tillis if he has “any concerns about how this same president who you’ve been condemning for Jan. 6 will react if Republicans have a bad night in the midterms?”
Tillis bluntly replied, “I think there’s a risk.”
He added, “I really do. It would be another political unforced error if we do that.”
Tillis’ warning came during a broader discussion of Trump’s conduct surrounding Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress met to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
It was “the first time in the history of this country that we had not had a completely peaceful transfer of power on that day, and that was despicable,” Tillis told Douthat.
“The people that led the charge, the people that assaulted police officers, I wish they were still in prison and serving a very long sentence,” he added. “I found it disgusting.”
Douthat pointed out, however, that Tillis did not vote to convict Trump in the impeachment trial that followed the Capitol attack.
Tillis, who has become an increasingly fierce critic of Trump since announcing his retirement from Congress, has previously said he opposed conviction because he believed the impeachment process was rushed, Douthat noted.
The North Carolina Republican is set to leave Congress in January, while his new book, “How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents,” is being released this week.