Trump’s ‘Bill’ just put the Senate in play for Democrats

On Sunday, Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, announced that he would not seek re-election. This came after numerous threats from President Donald Trump because of Tillis’ opposition to the so-called “One Big, Beautiful” bill.

- Eric Garcia, The Independent

Trump had even floated the idea of endorsing a primary challenger against Tillis. But when The Independent caught up with Tillis, he seemed sanguine about the whole affair.

“I respect President Trump, I support the majority of his agenda, but I don’t bow to anybody when the people of North Carolina are at risk and this bill puts them at risk,” he told The Independent. Trump's decision to bash a senator from a state he won and Republicans need to keep could be seen as reckless. But it also jeopardised Republicans’ chances of holding onto a Senate seat Tillis consistently won by narrow margins.

Tillis simply recognised a political truth: it's nearly impossible to take away an entitlement once it is embedded in federal law and people have benefited from it. Voters tend to punish the party they see as trying to take away a benefit, particularly something as intensely personal as health care.