Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele on MSNBC on May 15, 2025 (Image: Screengrab via MSNBC / YouTube)
A GOP senator attempted to defend Donald Trump's recent actions while also taking a firm stance against his Greenland overtures, earning a stern rebuke from former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele, who said the president should be treated "like a child" when it comes to the decisions he makes.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, has been among the more vocal conservative opponents of Trump's resurgent obsession with annexing Greenland. During a Tuesday appearance on CNBC, however, Tillis tempered his criticism, claiming that he was not upset with the president but blamed people advising him on the matter.
"To be clear -- I'm not critical of the president," Tillis said. "I'm critical of the bad advice he's getting on Greenland."
Taking to his own X account, Steele responded to a clip of Tillis's comment, arguing that Trump is ultimately responsible for the bad decisions he makes as president. Despite his past life as head of the RNC, Steele has long been a vocal critic of the president and his influence on the Republican Party.
"Stop it," Steele wrote. "Senator you know damn well the president should have the cognitive ability to determine where or not the advice he gets is bad. He is not a child (well…). Trump is driving this. He ultimately decides; therefore your criticism rests with him. No one else."
While he may be attempting to let Trump off the hook to a degree, Tillis has nevertheless been an outspoken critic of his obsession with seizing Greenland. Recently, he and moderate Alaska Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, joined forces with several Democratic senators and representatives in pledging to block Trump's ability to use military force to acquire Greenland. He also took part in a visit to the capital city of Copenhagen to meet with Danish leaders and reassure them of their ability to block Trump's ambitions.
“I’m going to remind them that we have co-equal branches of government and I believe that there [is a] sufficient number of members, whether they speak up or not, that are concerned with this,” Tillis told The Hill on Thursday morning. “The actual execution of anything that would involve a taking of a sovereign territory that is part of a sovereign nation, I think would be met with pretty substantial opposition in Congress. Right now people are trying to be deferential, but this is just an example of whoever keeps on telling the president that this idea is achievable should not be in Washington, D.C."
Stop it. Senator you know damn well the president should have the cognitive ability to determine where or not the advice he gets is bad. He is not a child (well…). Trump is driving this. He ultimately decides; therefore your criticism rests with him. No one else. https://t.co/1xTQ0mhduU
— Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) January 20, 2026