00:00We, yesterday, Republican Senator Tom Tilla sat down with my colleague Jake to talk about his decision to not seek re-election, and this came after President Trump had said he was going to essentially primary him after his vote against the tax and spending bill.
00:19As part of their conversation, Jake asked the senator what he thinks or says to those who accuse him of being a rhino, which is something you have been called in the past.
00:32Let me play Tom Tillis' response.
00:36The thing that most of these so-called true conservatives have in common, whether they're elected or party leaders, they've never legislated.
00:44So they can spare me the amateurish view of how this world works because they don't have a body of work to point to.
00:51I do.
00:54You have talked about the way you wrote it, an existential identity crisis now grips the American right.
01:00And I saw that and I was thinking of our conversation.
01:03I was wondering, when President Trump leaves office, when the Trump era, if you will, ends, do you think that populism, that MAGA element that accuses you, a conservative, of being a rhino, do you think that ends as well?
01:21Well, I think President Trump, as President should, has changed aspects of the agenda of the Republican Party.
01:27But I don't think he's changed the Republican Party.
01:32You know, I've been traveling around this country over the last four years, speaking with everyday Americans on everything from book tours to my own campaign for president.
01:41And what I've heard again and again is the deep commitment that Republican voters have to a strong national defense, American leadership in the world, fiscal responsibility, pro-growth policies, the right to life and traditional values.
01:59There is a populist move within the party that says we should marginalize the right to life, that we should embrace big government programs, that we should pull back from our commitments in the world.
02:12But I think that's a that's a minority voice.
02:15And as I as I said in the last segment, I seeing the president reaffirm that commitment to American leadership on the on the world stage.
