Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), long considered a card-carrying member of the RINO establishment, is ending his political career the same way he lived it — throwing cheap shots at President Trump and betraying the conservative base. But this time, the MAGA movement isn’t letting him slink away quietly.

Tillis, who recently announced his retirement, drew fierce backlash after an embarrassing appearance on CNN where he took aim at Trump’s Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth — a decorated Army veteran, respected patriot, and trusted Trump ally. During the interview, Tillis smugly claimed that Hegseth is “out of his depth” in running the Department of Defense.

Let that sink in: a swamp creature who spent years enabling failed policies and cozying up to Democrats thinks he’s qualified to lecture a combat veteran and America First leader.

Unsurprisingly, Trump supporters pounced. Across social media, conservatives scorched Tillis for his petty and disgraceful comments, branding him — rightly — a “retiring RINO” who’s doing the left’s bidding on his way out the door.

In his July 9 interview with Jake Tapper, Tillis tried to distance himself from his original vote to confirm Hegseth, telling CNN he now questions whether Hegseth has the skills to manage the Pentagon. He baselessly accused the secretary of being “amateurish,” citing the so-called “Signalgate” incident and President Trump’s pause on Ukraine aid — a decision broadly supported by the GOP base that’s tired of endless foreign entanglements.

Tillis, desperate to please the D.C. cocktail circuit one last time, even suggested that military leaders may have been too “generous” in their assessment of Hegseth. The arrogance is astounding — this from a man whose legacy includes voting *against* Trump’s signature “Big, Beautiful Bill” because it dared to rein in bloated Medicaid spending.

Let’s be clear: Pete Hegseth has more backbone, integrity, and leadership in his pinky finger than Thom Tillis has shown in a decade of backroom dealing and media bootlicking. Hegseth has served his country in uniform, and now he’s serving it again by cleaning up the rot in the Pentagon — a task that career politicians like Tillis never had the guts to even attempt.

The conservative base hasn’t forgotten Tillis’ betrayal in June, when he tried to derail Trump’s tax cut package that would have eliminated taxes on tips and overtime — a pro-worker, pro-growth policy. Instead, Tillis sided with Democrats to protect the bureaucratic welfare state.

As user “Johnny Maga” posted on X, “Tillis took a payout to retire and in exchange, tried to kill the premiere legislative win of Trump’s career, screwing his constituents out of eliminating taxes on tips and overtime. Good riddance, scumbag.”

Amen.

At the end of the day, Thom Tillis will be remembered not for his accomplishments, but for stabbing his party and his president in the back on his way to political irrelevance. Meanwhile, true leaders like Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump continue to fight for the forgotten men and women of this country.

The America First movement is surging. The RINOs are fading. And no amount of CNN airtime can save them from the judgment of the grassroots.