If he’s going to win North Carolina’s Republican nomination for Senate this cycle, Sen. Thom Tillis almost certainly needs President Donald Trump’s support in the GOP primary — and close advisers to the president are raising the prospect that he might not get it.
“Thom Tillis is running 20 points behind DJT in North Carolina,” Trump adviser Arthur Schwartz posted on X on Thursday, referring to a recent poll showing Tillis with a 25% approval rating. “We’re going to need a new senate candidate in NC unless we want to hand the gavel back to Schumer.”
Schwartz’s tweet triggered a series of reactions on Thursday. Tillis responded by telling reporters that Schwartz is a “political hack” and a “shitty consultant.” That, in turn, led Andy Surabian — a Republican strategist who is Vice President JD Vance’s and Donald Trump Jr.’s top political adviser — to respond to Tillis with his own pointed tweet.