TL;DR
- Nancy Mace fails to secure Trump’s endorsement for governor.
- She shifted to an anti-trans stance but was still snubbed.
- Trump backed her opponent, Pam Evette, instead.
- Mace’s past support for LGBTQ rights starkly contrasts her current views.
- The political implications for Mace are uncertain.
In a stunning twist, South Carolina U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, who has remade herself into an anti-trans culture warrior, found herself without the coveted endorsement of none other than Donald Trump in her bid for governor. Talk about a political makeover gone wrong. Mace, who once identified as a moderate Republican, has gone full MAGA, but it seems loyalty in Trump’s world is a one-way street.
After all her efforts to align herself with Trump and his base, Mace discovered that the former president prefers loyalty from his allies over mere political theatrics. Instead of throwing his weight behind Mace, Trump endorsed South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, stating, “She never wavered, never let me down, and was the only South Carolina Gubernatorial Candidate to Endorse me as soon as I launched my 2024 Presidential Campaign.” Ouch! That’s gotta sting.
For those who may have missed it, Mace has spent years transforming her image into one of Congress’s most visible anti-trans politicians. She’s been known to refer to LGBTQ+ individuals as “tr***ny protesters” while screaming through a megaphone outside the Capitol. And let’s not forget her infamous restroom incident where she harassed a cisgender woman, mistakenly believing she was confronting Delaware Rep. Sarah McBride, the first out transgender member of Congress. Talk about a mess!
During the 2024 Republican presidential primary, Mace initially tried to stay neutral, but eventually threw her support behind Trump, despite having previously claimed that his legacy was tarnished by the January 6 Capitol attack. Her flip-flopping on LGBTQ+ issues is equally dramatic; in 2021, she proclaimed herself “pro-transgender rights, pro-LGBTQ,” only to later pressure House Republican leadership to restrict restroom access based on sex assigned at birth. She even introduced legislation aiming for a nationwide bathroom ban targeting transgender individuals. Classic Mace!
In a bizarre twist of fate, Trump had previously endorsed Mace’s primary opponent, Katie Arrington, in 2022, yet Mace still managed to win renomination. This time, however, with Trump’s endorsement of Evette, Mace’s political future hangs in the balance. Recent polling shows Evette gaining momentum, while Mace is struggling to keep her head above water in a crowded field.
After Trump’s endorsement of Evette, Mace issued a statement praising the former president, insisting her campaign remains strong. “I have enormous respect for President Trump and everything he has done for our country and for South Carolina. That respect is genuine and it is unchanged,” she said, trying to save face. But let’s be real, her political career might need more than just respect to survive this round.
As the Republican voters prepare to make their choice for governor, the question remains: can Nancy Mace recover from this snub, or will she become just another footnote in the saga of Trump’s political endorsements? Only time will tell, but one thing is clear – the political landscape for LGBTQ+ rights is as turbulent as ever, and Mace’s anti-trans antics are not winning her any favors.