Tom Tillis Just Threw a Grenade at Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” — Democrats Better Pick It Up and Run

When Republican courage shows up late, you don’t waste time shaming it—you weaponize it.

Tom Tillis Just Threw a Grenade at Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” — Democrats Better Pick It Up and Run

Tom Tillis Breaks Ranks: How His Senate Speech Against Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” Can Be Democrats’ Secret Weapon

The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #392

On Sunday night, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina did something you almost never see anymore:
He stood up on the Senate floor…stared down the freight train of Donald Trump’s "Big Beautiful Bill," and said out loud:

"Mr. President, you will hurt people."

That’s not spin. That’s not posturing. That’s a Republican senator…on record…directly telling Donald Trump that this bill will devastate his own constituents.

It’s the kind of thing Republican leadership should have said years ago.

But they didn’t.

And now?

They’re paying for it.
And so is the country.

Why It Took This Long: Fear. Raw, Calculated Fear.

Republicans like Thom Tillis aren’t stupid.

They’ve known for years that Trump’s policies weren’t just brutal—they were toxic.

They’ve known that the Medicaid cuts…phony tax breaks…and border showpieces were political grenades dressed up as gifts to the working class.

But they said nothing.
Why?

Because they were desperate to hold on to power.

They feared:

• The MAGA base

• The Trump endorsement machine

• And the threat of being primaried into oblivion

So they stayed silent while the bulldozer kept rolling—right over the people who voted them into office.

Now, with nothing left to lose…Tillis finally speaks.

He’s not running for re-election. Trump threatened to primary him. He folded. He’s walking away. Now he talks.

Is he late to the party?
Sure.
But what he’s saying now is explosive.

And if Democrats are smart…they’ll stop shaming him for waiting.
They’ll weaponize it instead.

This Is Political Ammunition — Use It

Let’s cut the purity politics.

Democrats love to ask:
"Where was this courage in 2018? Why didn’t you say this in 2020? Why now?"

But let’s be clear: that argument doesn’t win elections.

What wins is taking Republican defectors…no matter how late they show up…and using their words like a crowbar to pry off votes.

Tillis just gave Democrats gold.
His words are on the record.
He’s practically begging the public to understand how dangerous Trump’s bill is.

Democrats should be:

• Printing his quotes on billboards

• Blasting them in radio ads

• Carving them into every swing district stump speech

“You will hurt people…”

That’s your attack line.
That’s your wedge.

If Democrats waste time wagging their fingers at Tillis instead of weaponizing him… they’re leaving votes on the table.

The Fear Factor: GOP’s Hostage Situation

Everyone inside the Republican machine knows the truth.

You cross Trump—you get primaried.
You lose your committee seats.
You get smeared.
You get buried.

Tillis knew that. That’s why he’s stepping down.

This is what has paralyzed the Republican Party for years:

• Fear-based politics.

• Power at all costs.

• Silence as survival.

Trump has become the bouncer at the door.
If you don’t pass the loyalty test…you don’t get to play.

And the voters?
The people who are about to lose Medicaid?
The rural clinics about to shut down?
The families about to get squeezed?

They’re just collateral damage.

The Republican establishment sold its soul for another election cycle—and they’ve handed Trump a party that now crushes dissent by design.

The Price of Waiting: Democracy On Life Support

Let’s be brutally honest.

If Republicans like Tillis had spoken up years ago…America wouldn’t be standing on the edge of this cliff.

Instead, they sat by as Trump bulldozed accountability…dismantled norms…and weaponized the primary system to terrorize his own party.

Tillis’s warning?
It’s coming after the house is already on fire.

But even if it’s late—it’s still usable.

The cost of waiting has been steep:

• The party has devolved into a one-man monarchy.

• Moderates have been purged.

• Dissenters have been replaced with loyalists.

It didn’t have to get this far.
But it did.
And now Democrats better not waste this moment.

What Democrats Must Do Right Now

Here’s the game plan:

Quote Tillis Relentlessly:

Use his words to break through Trump’s propaganda firewall.

Run Localized Ads:

Tie Tillis’s warnings directly to North Carolina voters—especially those who stand to lose Medicaid.

Force Republicans to Respond:

Make every GOP senator say where they stand: with Tillis or with Trump. Put them on the record.

Skip the Purity Tests:

Forget shaming Tillis for being late.
Focus on using his words to move votes.
That’s the win.

Final Word: This Is a Live Wire

Tom Tillis is no hero.
He walked the tightrope for years.
He finally speaks now because he’s on his way out.

But you know what?
His words still matter.
His warning is a crowbar.

And Democrats who know how to win should pick it up and swing.

Because the families about to lose their health care?
The rural hospitals about to shut down?
The working-class voters about to be gutted by this bill?

They don’t have time for a purity test.
They need someone to fight. Now.

Tillis threw a live wire on the floor.
Let’s see who’s smart enough to grab it.

Stay sharp.

Jack

P.S. Want more unfiltered, gloves-off analysis like this? Become a paid subscriber. I write for people who want to win—not for people who want to feel good about losing. Paid subscribers get the extra deep dive they crave. Why? Because they make what I do possible. It’s as simple as that.

P.P.S. Later this evening, paid subscribers will get my dive into Donald Trump’s building of a National Citizenship Data System that Marc Elias just called “Chilling,” on MSNBC a few moments ago. I’ll discuss what it is…what it means to you…and what we can do.