Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) on Sunday clashed with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos over her recent endorsement of Donald Trump even after he was found liable for rape.
During his show ‘This Week‘ Stephanopoulos played a clip of Mace testifying in the South Carolina legislature in 2019 about being a victim of rape shortly before she ran for Congress.
Stephanopoulos then asked her how she could square endorsing Trump, who has been found liable for sexual battery in his defamation lawsuit, with the testimony she delivered.
Mace came out swinging off the bat, accusing the host of trying to “shame” her for being a rape victim.
“I was raped at the age of 16,” Mace said. “And any rape victim will tell you — I’ve lived for 30 years with an incredible amount of shame over being raped. I didn’t come forward because of that judgment and shame that I felt. And it’s a shame that you will never feel, George. And I’m not going to sit here on your show and be asked a question meant to shame me about another, potential rape victim.”
Stephanopoulos told her that the question is “actually not about shaming you. It’s a question about Donald Trump.”
“No you are shaming me!” Mace shot back.
“You’ve endorsed Donald Trump for president. Donald Trump has been found liable for rape by a jury,” Stephanopoulos said. “Donald Trump has been found liable for defaming the victim of that rape by a jury. It’s been affirmed by a judge.”
Mace argued that Trump has not been found guilty of rape in a criminal case and said E. Jean Carroll joked about how she would spend the $83 million judgement Trump was ordered to pay for defaming her after she came forward with her story about him assaulting her in a department store in the 90s.
“Women won’t come forward because they’re defamed by those who perpetrate rape,” Stephanopoulos said.
The two continued to argue with Stephanopoulos repeatedly pushing back against Mace’s claim that he was “shaming” her.
“What you’ve done is offensive to women who have been raped,” Mace said at one point. “What you’ve done this morning is offensive.”
“We’ll let the viewers decide about that,” Stephanopoulos replied.
After the interview, Mace took to X/Twitter to once again accuse Stephanopoulos of “shaming” her.
“I’m not going to be shamed for being raped by a guy who worked for a President who wagged his finger and lied to the American people about having oral sex with an intern in the Oval Office…STFU [George Stephanopoulos],” Mace wrote.
“I was brought on to talk about 2024…instead Clinton crony turned fake journalist [George Stephanopoulos] attacked me and tried to shame me as a rape victim. Gross,” she wrote in a separate post.
