Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) went off the rails when asked by George Stephanopoulos to square how she as a rape victim supports Donald Trump.
The full transcript of the exchange is worth reading to see how Rep. Mace handled the question.
Video:
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Transcript via ABC’s This Week:
STEPHANOPOULOS: Congresswoman, thanks for joining us this morning.
You endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges in two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming a victim of that rape. How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?
MACE: Well, I will tell you, I was raped at the age of 16, and any rape victim will tell you, Iâve 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 Iâm not going to sit here on your show and be asked a question meant to shame me about another potential rape victim. Iâm not going to do that.
STEPHANOPOULOS: It’s actually not about shaming you. Itâs a question about Donald Trump.
MACE: No, you are shaming me.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You’ve endorsed Donald Trump for president.
MACE: Right.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Donald Trump has been found liable for rape by a jury. Donald Trump has been found liable for defaming the victim of that rape by a jury. It’s been affirmed by a judge. He repeated —
MACE: Itâs not a criminal court case, 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 find it disgusting.
And quite frankly, E. Jean Carroll’s comments when she did get the judgment joking about what she was going to buy, it doesn’t — it makes it harder for women to come forward when they make a mockery out of rape, when they joke about it. Itâs not OK.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Doesn’t it make it harder for women to come forward when they’re defamed by presidential candidates?
MACE: It makes it harder when other women joked about it and sheâs joked about it. I find it offensive. And also I find it offensive that you are trying to shame me with this question.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Iâm not trying to shame you at all. In fact —
MACE: You are. I have dealt with this for 30 years. You know how hard it was to tell my story five years ago when they were doing a fetal heartbeat bill, when there were no exceptions for rape, incest or life â or â and â rape or incest in there? I had to tell my story because no other woman was coming forward.
STEPHANOPOULOS: I’m just asking â
MACE: No rape victims were represented. And youâre trying to shame me this morning.
STEPHANOPOULOS: I’m just asking you â
MACE: And I find it offensive. And this is why women wonât come forward.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Women wonât come forward because they’re defamed by those who perpetrate rape. Donald Trump has been â
MACE: They are judged, and theyâre shamed, and youâre trying to shame me this morning. I think itâs disgusting.
STEPHANOPOULOS: I’m â I’m not â I’m not shaming you at all. I called you courageous.
Stephanopoulos asked Rep, Mace a logical question. He wanted to understand the thinking behind why she, as a rape victim, is supporting Donald Trump, and Mace tried to claim that she was being shamed.
Mace also attacked another rape victim and seemed to argue that judgments concerning rape in civil court somehow don’t count, as the only verdicts that matter happen in criminal court.
George Stephanopoulos didn’t shame Nancy Mace, but Rep. Mace did attack E. Jean Carroll, and minimize what happened to her.
Rape is rape whether that determination is made in civil or criminal court. The reality is that a man who has been found liable for raping a woman should not be President Of The United States.
Nancy Mace is an elected member of Congress, so her decision-making process should be open to questions. Stephanopoulos wasn’t attacking or shaming Rep. Mace. He was asking for insight into her thinking, and what he got back was a look at a callous and calculating person who seemed more interested in getting attention and creating a viral moment for herself than providing sincere insight into her choices.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelorâs Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association