Republican Senator ‘Thrilled’ Trump Called Him a ‘Loser’: ‘Makes Me Qualified To Be Homeland Security Secretary’

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) relished in the fact that President Donald Trump deemed him a “loser” for calling for the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Tillis and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) are so far the only two Republican senators who said Noem should lose her job after a second killing in Minneapolis by agents in her department. On Saturday, Border Patrol agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti, who was filming them in public. Video of the incident shows one of the agents shoved a woman to the ground, at which point Pretti tried to offer her assistance. Agents pepper-sprayed and tackled Pretti, who was armed with a handgun that he did not draw. After one agent disarmed him, two agents fired 10 shots at Pretti, killing him.

Noem immediately blamed Pretti for his own death and falsely claimed he “reacted violently” when agents tried to disarm him. On Tuesday, Axios reported that Noem said she has only been following orders from Trump and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

“Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen,” she told a person who relayed her remark to Axios.

Trump lashed out at Tillis and Murkowski for calling for Noem’s exit, telling ABC News the senators are “losers.”

On Wednesday, CNN’s Manu Raju informed Tillis at the Capitol.

“The president called you a loser, I believe,” Raju told the senator, who had just accused Noem and Miller of “incompetence.”

“I am thrilled about that,” he replied. “That makes me qualified to be Homeland Security secretary and senior adviser to the president.”

Tillis is retiring from the Senate at the end of his term next January.

Watch above via CNN.

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