In an interview with CNBC in January, President Donald Trump made clear his intent to cut Medicare and Social Security should he be reelected to a second term. “At some point they will be,” Trump said. “At the right time, we will take a look at that.”

Although frequently attempting to frame himself otherwise, North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis has a long history of supporting the same cuts to Medicare and Social Security proposed by the president. Tillis’ voting record makes him a likely ally with the president to slash these vital programs if they are each reelected to a second term.

In May 2015 and in October 2017, Tillis voted in favor of slashing the Medicare budget by a cumulative total of nearly 1 trillion – dramatic cuts that likely would have raised costs and put the health coverage of millions of American seniors in jeopardy.

Again in 2015, Tillis took direct aim at Social Security when he voted  against protecting the program from privatization.

In 2018, over 200,000 North Carolinans drew Social Security benefits and nearly 2,000,000 were enrolled in Medicare.

In November, Tillis will be seeking the support of many of these same North Carolina seniors as he seeks reelection as their United States Senator.