Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) on Sunday sparred with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos over her recent endorsement of former President Trump, accusing the anchor of “shaming” her for being a rape victim in his line of questioning.
Stephanopoulos played a video clip on “This Week” of Mace delivering testimony about being a victim of rape shortly before she announced her bid for Congress in 2019. He then asked her how she could square endorsing Trump, who has been found liable for sexual battery in his defamation lawsuit with E. Jean Carroll.
Mace gave a heated response, accusing Stephanopoulos of trying to “shame” her for being a rape victim.
“Well, I will tell you, I was raped at the age of 16, 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,” she said.
“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. I’m not going to do that,” Mace added.
Stephanopoulos, who served as an adviser to former President Clinton, told her that the question is “actually not about shaming you. It’s a question about Donald Trump.”
She shot back: “No, you are shaming me.”
Mace pointed out that Trump has not been found guilty of rape in a criminal case and repeatedly made the point that Carroll joked about how she would spend a more than $80 million judgement Trump was ordered to pay. A jury ruled earlier this year that Trump needed to pay Carroll $83.3 million for defaming the writer in 2019 by denying her claims that the former president sexually assaulted her in the mid-1990s.
The two continued to go back and forth, with Stephanopoulos pushing back on her claims that he was shaming her.
Stephanopoulos at one point called Mace “courageous” for coming forward with her story but kept pressing her on how she could endorse Trump after saying he should never hold office again after Jan. 6, and in light of the fact that he had been found liable for sexual battery.
“And I answered it. You’re shaming me for my political choices,” she said.
“No, I’m not — I’m asking you a question about why you endorsed someone who’s been found liable for rape. Just answer the question,” Stephanopoulos said.
Mace said Stephanopoulos’s question was “deeply offensive” as the two continued to argue with one another.
“You show that you’re very comfortable with what Donald Trump has done,” Stephanopoulos said.
“And what you’ve done is offensive to women who have been raped. What you’ve done this morning is offensive,” Mace responded.
Mace then took to social media to further rail against Stephanopoulos, posting a clip of the full exchange on social media.
“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 @GStephanopoulos,” Mace wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
She appeared to be referencing Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky when she was a White House intern.
In a separate post on X, she said she “was brought on to talk about 2024…instead Clinton crony turned fake journalist @Gstephanopoulos attacked me and tried to shame me as a rape victim.”
The Hill has reached out to ABC for comment on Mace’s social media posts.