Thom Tillis Taps Out
The Republican Senator fed the MAGA beast, but ended up getting eaten alive.
There’s something darkly poetic about watching Thom Tillis hang it up. The two-term Republican Senator from North Carolina — who once styled himself as a dependable conservative — announced he’s not seeking reelection, a day after refusing to back Donald Trump’s latest legislative fever dream, the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.” Trump promptly turned on him like a malfunctioning Bluetooth speaker, threatening to support a primary challenger. It’s almost like loyalty means nothing in the cult of MAGA— because it doesn’t.
That might sound dramatic. MAGA diehards get awfully offended when you say they’re in a cult. So let’s be generous: You may not be in a cult, but you’re definitely in a cultish movement. And the biggest red flag? The rules don’t apply to the leader. They only apply to you. According to psychologists and cult experts, that’s textbook behavior. Cult leaders demand absolute fealty while they move the goalposts, rewrite the rules, and still expect applause. In MAGA world, that’s just Tuesday.
Look at Thom Tillis’s record. This isn’t some moderate squish who suddenly found religion. He voted to acquit Trump in both impeachments. He backed Trump’s judicial nominees like his job depended on it — because it did. He cosponsored harsh immigration legislation. He even defended Trump’s border wall with all the conviction of a man cosplaying as Steve Bannon for Halloween. And yet, when he hesitated to support Trump’s DOJ pick — an actual January 6th apologist —a nd when he opposed the Big Beautiful Budget Bill that would have gutted Medicaid in his state, Trump turned on him. Publicly. Brutally. Instantly.
On June 26, Trump publicly threatened to back a primary challenger after Tillis voted against advancing his newest MAGA monstrosity. The message was clear: Disloyalty —even once — will get you politically guillotined.
It’s a textbook case of argumentum ad baculum — an appeal to the stick. That’s when someone substitutes threats for arguments. Trump didn’t offer a counter-policy or defend his nominee with facts because dear leader didn’t have to. He just dangled a hit job over Tillis’s head. That’s not leadership. That’s extortion in a flag lapel pin.
Worse still, the MAGA base thrives on post hoc ergo propter hoc thinking — “after this, therefore because of this.” Any Republican setback gets blamed not on bad policy or fascist optics, but on someone like Tillis failing to grovel low enough. The logic is circular: if they lose, blame the RINOs. If they win, praise Dear Leader’s divine instinct. It’s superstition in red, white, and blue packaging.
And yet, this is the man some Republicans are now rallying behind, wringing their hands and lamenting how unfair Trump is being. I hope for Tillis’s sake, those people have some sympathy for him. I can’t. I won’t. He’s one of many who helped build this monster. What did he think was going to happen? That Trump would send him a fruit basket for mild dissent? These are the same people who clutched their pearls when Trump accepted a $400 million private jet from Qatar, and even Laura Loomer — the queen of “I’d take a bullet for Trump” — had to admit she was uncomfortable. But here’s the thing: If you’re willing to take a bullet for someone, eventually you might have to actually take one. That’s the playground you chose.
And what a playground it is. MAGA is not about leadership; it’s about obedience. These people don’t run for office to govern. They run to take orders from Trump and collect a check for doing it. They’re not aspiring to be change-makers — they’re auditioning to be background extras in a reality show they’ll never star in. They don’t want power to do something. They want power to be seen doing whatever Trump tells them to. This isn’t loyalty. This is fealty. Loyalty is earned. Fealty is demanded. And in return? Nothing. You get nothing. Just ask Mike Lindell and Rudy Giuliani.
Mike Lindell, the MyPillow guy turned human cautionary tale, is “in ruins.” That’s not hyperbole—that’s what he told a judge. After being hit with sanctions for failing to pay in a Smartmatic defamation case, Lindell wept in court. This is the same guy who spent millions pushing conspiracy theories, convinced he was doing holy work for the MAGA cause. And now? He can’t even afford to pay the court fees.
Rudy Giuliani, America’s Mayor turned dollar-store Rasputin, isn’t doing any better. After years of serving as Trump’s loyal legal wrecking ball, he filed for bankruptcy, claiming he was owed millions by Trump’s campaign. The court threw out his case, branding him a recalcitrant debtor. He’s disbarred, disgraced, and broke. The man went from prosecuting mob bosses to becoming the punchline in every group chat, and for what? Fealty. Not respect. Not results. Fealty.
Break Constitution in Case of Emergency
It seems like I can forget about normal days during this administration. I sat down this morning hoping for a quiet day — maybe throw on some cartoons in the background while I caught up on grading — maybe a little Batman: The Animated Series, something with a villain who doesn’t pretend to be the hero. But instead, I’m reflecting on the President’s dec…
And it doesn’t stop at careers. It kills marriages too. People are leaving their spouses over Trump. Literally. A BuzzFeed article collected stories of women who couldn’t stay in relationships with men who supported Trump — and vice versa. One woman said, “I just couldn’t love him in the same way anymore.” That’s not political disagreement. That’s a worldview rupture.
A Slate investigation followed women who divorced their Trump-loving husbands. The emotional fallout wasn’t just over policy; it was over dignity. Over the erosion of shared values. One woman said, “I didn’t recognize the person he was becoming.” Another said her husband used Trump talking points to justify controlling behavior. It wasn’t politics anymore — it was indoctrination.
It’s hard not to compare this to the Branch Davidians. No, I’m not saying MAGA is burning down compounds. Yet. But the comparison holds. Once you’re in, your identity is no longer yours. Your thoughts aren’t really your own. You can only be as proud of your background, your ideas, your self, as the movement allows. When Ann Coulter looked Vivek Ramaswamy in the face and told him she wouldn’t vote for him because he’s Indian, that wasn’t a slip. That was a feature. You can agree with MAGA 100% and still be disqualified by your skin tone.
And it’s not just ethnic gatekeeping — it’s intellectual. Trump has groomed a culture of anti-intellectualism. These are people who now believe vaccines are satanic, diversity is evil, and Trump knows more than every expert in every field. You can’t reason with that. You can only endure it until it burns itself out — or takes you down with it.
What MAGA truly excels at is grooming people — not sexually, not always ideologically, but culturally. It grooms people into believing that the only valid truth is Trump’s. That loyalty to country, to community, to common sense, all take a backseat to the whims of a man who still doesn’t know how government works. It grooms people into thinking disagreement is betrayal, empathy is weakness, and facts are fungible. And now some of the people who helped build this machine are shocked that it’s consuming them, too.
So no, I don’t feel bad for Thom Tillis. He may not have been the loudest in the MAGA tent, but he held it up for years. He excused, enabled, and elevated Trumpism because it was politically convenient. Now the movement he helped mainstream has no use for him, and the exit is cold and brutal. That’s the thing about cults: They don’t thank you for your service. They just chew you up and spit you out when you’re no longer useful — or when you commit the sin of thinking for yourself.
And yet, Tillis’s story should be a warning — not just to Republicans, but to anyone who thinks they can ride the tiger and dismount unscathed. The MAGA machine demands total surrender. It has no space for nuance, no room for dissent, and no tolerance for self-reflection. Once you’re in, you’re either all in, or you’re out. There is no middle.
So if Thom Tillis can’t survive MAGA, no one can. Not unless they’re willing to give up everything — integrity, autonomy, identity — in exchange for the privilege of being eaten last.
 | A guest post by
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Your analysis applies to the whole maga base. They will literally go down with the ship When actually start drowning, They will cry out for orange god only to rebuffed if not outright ignored.