U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) criticized President Donald Trump for withholding his endorsement in the heated Texas runoff election between incumbent Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Trump has said he’s “not doing anything” until Congress passes the SAVE Act, an attempt to put pressure on Cornyn.
Tillis said Trump’s decision to not endorse a candidate was a mistake: “The more time we spend millions of dollars with Republican on Republican violence, Democrats are in the marketing department loving the idea of a competitive runoff between Cornyn and Paxton.”
Tillis, who announced in June that he’s not running for re-election, added, “I get tired of Republicans being lazy and unstrategic.”
Thom Tillis says it’s mistake for Trump to withold endorsement in #txsen over Save Act, rails on intraparty feud
“The more time we spend millions of dollars with Republican on Republican violence, Democrats” will benefit.
“I get tired of Republicans being lazy and unstrategic.” pic.twitter.com/KpH7LYoqNE
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 16, 2026
Former U.S. State Department official Steven Schrage (who worked on President George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign) responded to Tillis’ comments: “Tillis desperate to save Cornyn. What does that tell you?”
While some MAGA supporters including former Trump fundraiser Caroline Wren are voicing disapproval of Cornyn (“John Cornyn will use his final term to stab President Trump and MAGA in the back every chance he gets. We can’t let that happen”), Cornyn supporters including his communications director Matt Mackowiak are offering a less divisive perspective. Mackowiak points out that Cornyn’s voting record is 99.3% with Trump.
His voting record is 99.3% with Trump.#txsen https://t.co/LZtkNGFXE9
— Matt Mackowiak (@MattMackowiak) March 4, 2026