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On with Kara Swisher

Sen. Tillis Unfiltered: Trump, Iran & What’s Next For the GOP

3/30/20261 hr 3 min

Since announcing his decision to retire last year, North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis has become a kind of thorn in MAGA’s side, holding up appointments and voicing criticisms about legislation favored by President Trump. But his resistance raises a perennial question about Republicans in the Trump era: Why do lawmakers only push back when they’re on the way out? Kara and Sen. Tillis talk about his concerns over the Trump administration’s handling of the war in Iran; why he thinks newly confirmed Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin will be an improvement over his predecessor, Kristi Noem; and why Tillis aims his criticisms at Trump’s advisers rather than Trump himself. They also talk about his worries about the upcoming midterms and where he thinks the party is headed after Trump leaves office.  Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clips

Sixty-Day War Powers Line
Warning Against Civilian Strikes
Fed Independence Line In Sand
Calling Out Yes-Men Culture
Filibuster Theater Accusation
Political Martyrs Are ‘Dead’
Taking On Stephen Miller
Independent Voters Matter Most
Tough Love For Big Tech
Who Replaces Tillis’s Role?

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Kara Swisher· Host0:00

    You're a very good public servant, I have to say.

  2. Thom Tillis· Guest0:02

    Thank you.

  3. Kara Swisher· Host0:02

    Otherwise I wouldn't vote for you either.

  4. Thom Tillis· Guest0:04

    [laughs] I would vote for you, to be fair.

  5. Kara Swisher· Host0:05

    I'm not running. I'm just running my mouth.

  6. Abbe Lowell· Soundbite0:07

    [upbeat music] It's on.

  7. Kara Swisher· Host0:08

    [upbeat music] Hi, everyone, from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network, this is On with Kara Swisher, and I'm Kara Swisher. My guest today is North Carolina Republican senator, Thom Tillis. He's one of the very few Republicans willing to criticize the Trump administration right now. That's mainly because he's not running for re-election this year, in part because of criticisms from President Trump. Tillis has voiced skepticism about the administration's goals in Iran. He's refused to confirm President Trump's pick to head the Federal Reserve until the Justice Department drops an investigation into its current chair, Jerome Powell. And earlier this month, he also got a lot of attention for eviscerating now-former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem during a Senate hearing.

  8. Thom Tillis· Guest1:01

    We're an exceptional nation, and one of the reasons we're exceptional is we expect exceptional leadership, and you've demonstrated anything but that in the time that I've seen you responding to the emergency in North Carolina and across the Southeast, and acknowledging when mistakes are made.

  9. Kara Swisher· Host1:19

    But Tillis is careful not to criticize Trump himself. He says the problem is the people around the president giving him bad advice, whom President Trump hired, by the way, but that's another

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