  The simple $m^2\phi^2$ potential as an inflationary model is coming under
increasing tension with limits on the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ and
measurements of the scalar spectral index $n_s$. Cubic Galileon interactions in
the context of the Horndeski action can potentially reconcile the observables.
However, we show that this cannot be achieved with only a constant Galileon
mass scale because the interactions turn off too slowly, leading also to
gradient instabilities after inflation ends. Allowing for a more rapid
transition can reconcile the observables but moderately breaks the slow-roll
approximation leading to a relatively large and negative running of the tilt
$\alpha_s$ that can be of order $n_s-1$. We show that the observables on CMB
and large scale structure scales can be predicted accurately using the
optimized slow-roll approach instead of the traditional slow-roll expansion.
Upper limits on $|\alpha_s|$ place a lower bound of $r\gtrsim 0.005$ and
conversely a given $r$ places a lower bound on $|\alpha_s|$, both of which are
potentially observable with next generation CMB and large scale structure
surveys.
