In the wake of the Jan. 6 attack, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace scrambled to distance herself from Donald Trump, saying his legacy had been “wiped out“ by his role in the insurrectionist riot. This did not go unnoticed inside Mar-a-Lago.
In fact, just two years ago, Trump endorsed the South Carolina congresswoman’s GOP primary rival, calling Mace “absolutely terrible,” and adding that her “remarks and attitude have been devastating for her community, and not at all representative of the Republican Party to which she has been very disloyal.”
A month later, the former president declared at a rally that he considered Mace to be “untruthful” and a “grandstanding loser.”
Almost exactly two years to the day later, Trump endorsed Mace’s 2024 re-election bid.
It was against this backdrop that the GOP lawmaker sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos roughly 24 hours ago. The Washington Post reported on the interview that turned contentious:
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) accused ABC News host George Stephanopoulos of shaming her as a victim of rape after he pressed her on her support for Donald Trump on Sunday. Mace, who was raped when she was 16 years old, made the comments after the “This Week” host asked the congresswoman to square her recent endorsement of Trump with the civil trial that found Trump liable for sexually assaulting writer E. Jean Carroll.
In case anyone needs a refresher, it was last year when a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll, and jurors awarded the writer $5 million in damages for her battery and defamation claims.
The jury did not find the defendant liable for rape, though a judge later concluded that the former president, for all intents and purposes, “‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’”
A couple of months ago, the matter became even more serious for Trump: A jury concluded that the former president must pay his accuser over $83 million in damages for repeatedly…
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