周二，北卡罗来纳州共和党参议员汤姆·蒂利斯为其新出版的政治回忆录中对特朗普政府官员的尖刻批评辩护，称自己“完全支持书中所写的一切”。CNN记者凯特兰·柯林斯朗读了蒂利斯在《如何失去朋友并惹怒总统》一书中的那些毫不留情的言论。这位北卡罗来纳州共和党人首先坦言，自己投票支持彼得·赫格塞特出任国防部长是他政治生涯中“最大的遗憾”。
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Tuesday defended insults from his new political memoir thrown at Trump administration officials, saying that he stands “by all that.”CNN’s Kaitlan Collins read off Tillis’s “unsparing” remarks from “How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents,” starting with the North Carolina Republican saying his vote to confirm Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as “the biggest regret” of his career.
“您承认自己本应阻止小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪成为卫生与公众服务部部长，”柯林斯继续说道，“您还称前国家情报总监塔莉希·加巴德根本没本事竞选当地门萨协会的主席；您说前国土安全部部长克里斯蒂·诺姆是个杀害狗只的人，还说商务部长霍华德·卢特尼克‘脑子比疯掉的松鼠还不正常’。”
“You admit that you should have stopped [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] from becoming health secretary,” Collins continued. “You say [former Director of National Intelligence] Tulsi Gabbard won’t be challenging anyone for president of her local Mensa chapter. You say [ex-Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem’s a dog murderer and that [Commerce Secretary] Howard Lutnick ‘is nuttier than squirrel s—.'”
“我完全支持这些说法，”蒂利斯回应道，“还有别的吗？”即将在本届任期结束后退休的蒂利斯表示，自己确实支持总统内阁中的“大多数人”。但柯林斯反驳称，他的言论实际上是在批评特朗普政府的大多数高级官员。
“I stand by all that,” Tillis responded. “What else you got?”The senator, who is retiring at the end of the term, said he does support “the majority of people” in the president’s Cabinet. Collins pushed back, saying his comments hit the majority of top Trump administration officials.
“关键在于，是我们挑选了这些人，是我们决定让他们担任这些职务，”蒂利斯答道，“我只是在对他们进行年度考核罢了。如果他们不合格，自然就该被换掉。”
“The point is we hired them, we made a decision to put them in there,” he replied. “I’m giving them their annual review. They didn’t pass, you cycle them out.”
蒂利斯补充道：“得找其他人选，找那些能向总统直言不讳、能正确设定工作优先级并帮助我们赢得连任的人。事情就是这么简单。”尽管对内阁成员多有批评，他仍认为特朗普是一位民粹主义者，能够“成功动员那些唯他马首是瞻的选民”在11月的中期选举中踊跃投票。
Tillis added, “Get somebody else, get somebody that can tell the president the truth, set the priorities right and get us reelected. That’s all this is about.”Criticisms aside, he argued Trump is a populist who will do “a good job of bringing out that base that’s uniquely motivated by him” to vote in the upcoming November midterm elections.
“传统的保守派、传统的共和党人也必须尽到自己的责任，去动员其他选民。要告诉他们：‘各位，我们现在面对的正是民粹主义，就像民主党当年面对拜登和奥巴马时一样。我们必须挺过这一关，但绝不能背弃自己的政党。’”这位共和党人最后说道。
“Traditional conservatives, traditional Republicans have to do their part to get the other folks out and say, ‘Guys, we’re dealing with populism just like the Democrats did with Biden and with Obama. And we’ve got to get through it. But you don’t abandon your party,'” the Republican added.
据美联社报道，蒂利斯在书中写道，他与总统并无“过节”，只是看不惯“那些为他卖命的蠢货”。该书于周二正式出版。
Tillis wrote in his book that he does not have “beef” with the president, only with “the idiots he’s got working for him,” The Associated Press reported before the book’s release on Tuesday.
这位共和党议员过去时常与白宫的某些立场及提案持不同意见，包括特朗普的移民政策。他最近表示，自己赞同参议院共和党同僚们的观点，认为大规模驱逐行动已有些过头；他还指出，自2024年以来，总统在西班牙裔选民中的支持率有所下降。
The GOP lawmaker has stood apart from some of the White House’s positions and proposals in the past, including Trump’s immigration agenda. He recently said he agreed with his Senate Republican colleagues that mass deportations have gone too far, noting that the president’s support among Hispanic voters has dropped since 2024.
此前他曾对《国会山报》说：“我宁愿让100个非法居留者逍遥法外，也不愿让那个无辜的人遭殃。”
“I would rather have 100 illegally present people go free than have that innocent person caught,” he previously told The Hill.
周一，蒂利斯称随着新书发行，他“完全不担心”会遭到白宫的报复——尤其是在特朗普因参议员汤姆·科顿反对将夏令时永久化的法案，便在“Truth Social”社交平台上公开了后者的电话号码之后。
Tillis said Monday that, with the book’s release, he was “not at all” concerned about possible retaliation from the White House, particularly after Trump posted Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R-Ark.) phone number to Truth Social after he opposed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent.
这位参议员在接受美国广播公司《The View》节目采访时透露，书中收录了他与总统之间的私人短信往来，并半开玩笑地说：“恕我直言，我也有他的电话号码。”
The senator told ABC’s “The View” that the book includes private text exchanges between him and the president, noting that with “all due respect, I got his number too.”