{"publisher":{"name":"MediaBias News","url":"https://mediabias.news","methodology":"https://mediabias.news/methodology","editorialPrinciples":"https://mediabias.news/editorial-principles","corrections":"https://mediabias.news/corrections"},"scoreGuide":{"trust":"How well corroborated and evidenced the source reporting is. 0-100, higher is better.","critic":"Craft quality of the source journalism: context, balance, fact vs comment. 0-100, higher is better.","hype":"How far the source presentation runs ahead of substance. 0-100, LOWER IS BETTER.","scope":"Scores assess the original reporting this article was written from, not the truth of the underlying event and not the quality of this write-up."},"assessmentGuide":{"type":"coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis","factCheck":{"status":"not-performed","note":"Media Bias News compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It does not currently publish a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true."},"sourceFactuality":{"note":"Factuality values describe published ratings of the outlets that covered the story. They are not a factuality verdict on this story or its claims."}},"story":{"id":"https://mediabias.news/politics/senator-tillis-sent-profane-texts-to-trump-book-reveals","slug":"senator-tillis-sent-profane-texts-to-trump-book-reveals","url":"https://mediabias.news/politics/senator-tillis-sent-profane-texts-to-trump-book-reveals","title":"Senator Tillis sent profane texts to Trump, book reveals","subtitle":"Outgoing Republican senator's messages to the president are expected to be published in his memoir.","excerpt":"Newly revealed private text messages show Senator Thom Tillis using profanity to express his frustration with President Donald Trump. The messages, which Tillis sent earlier this year, are expected to be included in his upcoming book.","category":"Politics","area":"United States","publishedAt":"2026-10-02T14:45:59.787Z","sourceReportedAt":"2026-10-02T14:00:03.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-02T14:45:59.787Z","readTime":"3 min read","scores":{"trust":42,"critic":61,"hype":41,"notes":{"trust":"The central claim is attributed to Politico, and the reporting is corroborated by six other outlets.","critic":"The reporting clearly separates fact from comment and includes specific details and dates.","hype":"The headlines use strong language like 'angry,' 'profanity-laced,' and 'unloads' to describe the texts."}},"tags":["#ThomTillis","#DonaldTrump","#USPolitics","#PoliticalTexts","#Memoir"],"entities":["Thom Tillis","Donald Trump","President Trump","Senator Tillis","Truth Social","How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents"],"body":[{"type":"key_takeaways","items":["Senator Thom Tillis sent private text messages to President Donald Trump earlier this year, expressing anger and using profanity.","Tillis stated he would not accept Trump's \"bullshit\" and would tell him to \"f*** yourself\" if threatened with a primary challenge.","These messages are expected to appear in Tillis's forthcoming book, titled \"How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents.\"","Trump had publicly attacked Tillis on Truth Social on May 22, calling him a \"nitpicker.\""]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"Senator Thom Tillis sent private text messages to President Donald Trump earlier this year, in which he used profanity to express his dissatisfaction. In one message, Tillis stated he would not accept Trump's \"bullshit.\" He also wrote that if Trump had threatened him with a primary challenge, he would have told him to \"f*** yourself\" and announced his retirement immediately."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"These messages are expected to be published in Tillis's forthcoming book, \"How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents.\" Trump had publicly attacked Tillis on Truth Social on May 22, calling him a \"nitpicker.\" Tillis announced his retirement from the Senate on June 29, 2025."},{"type":"heading","text":"Disagreement on timing of threats"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"The Independent reported that Tillis wrote, \"As I have said before, you NEVER threatened me with a primary challenge.\" It also stated that Trump criticized Tillis publicly after the senator said he would oppose Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general unless Blanche condemned the January 6 rioters. The Independent reported that Trump told a reporter, \"Senator Tillis is a loser. That’s why he didn’t run. He didn’t run because I wouldn’t support him. And he’s just an angry man because he’s not gonna be a senator any longer.\" The Independent also reported that Tillis announced his retirement on June 29, 2025, hours after Trump said he would seek primary challengers to Tillis following the senator’s vote against advancing the “Big, Beautiful Bill” in the Senate."},{"type":"heading","text":"What the coverage left out"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"None of the left or centre-rated reports mentioned the specific date Senator Thom Tillis announced his retirement from the Senate, other than that it was in June 2025. No right-rated outlet ran this story."}],"basedOn":[{"sourceName":"HuffPost","url":"https://huffpost.com/entry/thom-tillis-trump-text-messages_n_6abfc05be4b0ecc03a213f90","headline":"GOP Senator Publishes Expletive-Filled Texts To Trump: ‘I Would Have Immediately Told You To F**k Yourself’","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-10-02T17:46:18.000Z"},{"sourceName":"dailymail.com","url":"https://dailymail.com/news/us-politics/article-16178755/Republican-Senators-explosive-private-texts-Trump-revealed-blasts-president-profanity-laced-missive.html","headline":"Republican Senator's explosive private texts to Trump revealed","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-10-02T16:53:16.000Z"},{"sourceName":"The Daily Boulder","url":"https://dailyboulder.com/go-f-k-yourself-save-that-s-t-for-cowards-thom-tillis-unleashes-on-trump-in-explosive-texts","headline":"'Go F--k yourself,' 'Save that s--t for cowards': Thom Tillis unleashes on Trump in explosive texts","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-10-02T15:08:14.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Joe.My.God.","url":"https://joemygod.com/2026/10/thom-tillis-reveals-f-bomb-texts-he-sent-to-trump","headline":"Thom Tillis Reveals F-Bomb Texts He Sent To Trump","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-10-02T14:00:03.000Z"},{"sourceName":"The Independent","url":"https://independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-tillis-texts-republican-senator-b3060395.html","headline":"Republican senator’s angry and profanity-laced texts to Trump revealed","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-10-02T13:54:12.000Z"},{"sourceName":"The Independent (US)","url":"https://the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-tillis-texts-republican-senator-b3060395.html","headline":"Republican senator’s angry and profanity-laced texts to Trump revealed","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-10-02T13:54:12.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Raw Story","url":"https://rawstory.com/tillis-trump-texts-new-report","headline":"Cursing GOP senator directly ripped into Trump in newly released texts: 'We are failing'","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-10-02T12:46:27.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Alternet","url":"https://alternet.org/tillis-trump-2677983309","headline":"'Cowards and fools': Tillis unloads on Trump in profane private message","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-10-02T12:41:00.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Political Wire","url":"https://politicalwire.com/2026/10/02/thom-tillis-lashed-out-at-trump-in-private-texts","headline":"Thom Tillis Lashed Out at Trump in Private Texts","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-10-02T11:04:15.000Z"},{"sourceName":"Mediaite","url":"https://mediaite.com/media/news/gop-senator-privately-told-off-trump-in-fiery-texts-obtained-by-politico-i-dont-take-that-bullsht-from-anyone","headline":"GOP Senator Privately Told Off Trump in Fiery Texts Obtained by Politico: ‘I Don’t Take That Bullsh*t From Anyone!’","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-10-02T08:16:53.000Z"}],"analysis":{"distribution":{"percent":{"left":80,"centre":20,"right":0},"count":{"left":8,"centre":2,"right":0},"totalSources":10,"untracked":0,"rated":10,"observedAt":"2026-10-02T17:52:06.425Z"},"lifecycle":{"state":"developing","lastCheckedAt":"2026-10-02T18:00:35.638Z","closedAt":null,"checks":13,"changes":0,"reopened":false},"framing":{"left":["Left-rated reports highlighted the profanity used by Senator Thom Tillis in his private text messages to President Donald Trump. Several outlets quoted Tillis's statements, including \"f*** yourself\" and \"bullshit.\" The reports noted that these messages are expected to appear in Tillis's forthcoming book, \"How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents.\" The timing of the texts, occurring earlier this year, and Trump's public criticism of Tillis on Truth Social on May 22 were also mentioned. The Independent, in its full report, detailed Tillis's past criticisms of Trump administration policies and officials, including the Iran war and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and his comments about Donald Trump Jr."],"centre":["The centre-rated report from Political Wire focused on Senator Thom Tillis lashing out at President Donald Trump in private texts. It mentioned Tillis's refusal to take Trump's \"bullshit\" and his statement that he would have \"immediately told you to fuck yourself\" and announced his retirement early if Trump had directly threatened him with a primary challenge. 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They are not a factuality verdict on this story or its claims."}},"citation":{"recommended":"MediaBias News, \"Senator Tillis sent profane texts to Trump, book reveals\", https://mediabias.news/politics/senator-tillis-sent-profane-texts-to-trump-book-reveals","canonicalUrl":"https://mediabias.news/politics/senator-tillis-sent-profane-texts-to-trump-book-reveals","instructions":["Cite and link the canonical article URL, not the API, markdown mirror, homepage, or an original outlet URL.","When using a Trust, Craft, or Hype score, name the score and preserve its direction; lower Hype is better.","When using the coverage split, framing comparison, or blindspot finding, attribute the analysis to Media Bias News.","Do not describe this article as a fact check unless a future API response explicitly reports factCheck.status as performed."]},"links":{"canonical":"https://mediabias.news/politics/senator-tillis-sent-profane-texts-to-trump-book-reveals","json":"https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/senator-tillis-sent-profane-texts-to-trump-book-reveals","markdown":"https://mediabias.news/politics/senator-tillis-sent-profane-texts-to-trump-book-reveals.md","methodology":"https://mediabias.news/methodology"}}}