We Must Now Wonder: Is Nancy Mace Right in the Head?

Representative Nancy Mace, an outspoken sexual assault survivor, had a baffling response when asked why she continues to support rapist Donald Trump for president.

Mace, who endorsed Trump in January, appeared Sunday on ABC’s This Week. When host George Stephanopolous asked Mace how she can “square” her support for Trump with his being found liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll and then defaming her, Mace immediately began repeatedly accusing Stephanopoulos of trying to “shame” her for being sexually assaulted.

When Stephanopolous reiterated that a jury had found Trump liable for rape, a decision upheld by the presiding judge and then reinforced by a second jury, Mace snapped, “It was not a criminal court, number one.”

“Number two, I live with shame, and you’re asking me a question about my political choices, trying to shame me as a rape victim, and I find it disgusting,” Mace continued. “And quite frankly, E. Jean Carroll’s comments, when she did get the judgment, joking about what she was gonna buy? It makes it harder for women to come forward when they make a mockery out of rape.”

Stephanopolous pointed out that getting defamed by the sitting president also makes it harder for women to come forward, but Mace stuck to her guns. As of Monday morning, the pinned post on her X (formerly Twitter) account says, “There is nothing ‘valiant’ about shaming a rape victim.”

The irony was lost on Mace, but not Carroll. The popular author tweeted Sunday afternoon, “I wish Representative @RepNancyMace well. And I salute all survivors for their strength, endurance, and holding on to their sanity.”

Obviously, survivors of sexual assault should never be shamed for the attack. But Mace’s mental gymnastics here are just the latest demonstration of the congresswoman’s stunning hypocrisy.

According to Mace, it only counts as rape if the attacker is found guilty in a criminal court, not a civil court as Trump was. By this logic, sexual assault isn’t such a big deal, because out of every 1,000 instances of rape, only 13 get referred to a prosecutor. Only seven actually result in a felony conviction.

In fact, by her own logic, was Mace even attacked? Because she did not report the assault to the police. Again, that is her completely within her right, but she can’t then argue that being found liable for rape doesn’t count.

Mace has made her story of surviving sexual assault a major part of her political identity. She said it took her 25 years to share the story, after she was raped at just 16 years old, and it was one of the hardest things she’s ever done.

But for all her talk about helping victims of sexual assault, she hasn’t fully showed up for them when it comes to actual votes. Despite urging her party to adopt more moderate stances on abortion, for example, she then turns right around and falls in line with her party every single time.

As a reminder, Trump was found liable for sexually assaulting Carroll. The judge in the case went out of his way to clarify that as we understand the common definition of the word “rape,” Trump can be considered a rapist. The former president owes Carroll a total of $88.3 million—$5 million for assaulting her and defaming her, and the rest for defaming her a separate time.

After being awarded the $83.3 million in damages, Carroll vowed to spend the money on “something Donald Trump hates.”

“Perhaps a fund for the women who have been sexually assaulted by Donald Trump,” she said.