Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has been a bit of a wild card ever since entering Congress, but over the last two years, she has really gained attention -- and not always for the right reasons.
Mace has had some public meltdowns, released nude photos of herself to support claims of abuse, and now she is running for governor of her state.
Unfortunately for Mace, her ex-fiancé, who she claimed sexually abused her, has just come forward with an allegation of his own against Mace.
Mace took her allegations public on the House floor in February, claiming that South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson was purposely delaying the prosecution of those she said victimized her.
Wilson responded to her statement, “No disrespect to the individual we’re talking about. Their case should be investigated, the state law enforcement division has that case. I do not have that case. I know nothing about that case.”
He continued, “If you want to attack me for a case I knew nothing about because it was never sent to me that’s fine, but don’t undermine victim rights advocates, don’t undermine the real hotlines out there that are manned by people who are trained to support victims of crimes.”
I saw more than a few people who then accused Mace of making the entire story up to get attention, as she has quickly become known as a drama queen within the party.
I don’t know Mace, and I have never had any personal interaction with her, and she does not represent my home state of Texas, but I have read all the reports, and I can understand why her character is being questioned.
For instance, in an October post on social media, Mace tried to defend herself from a report that she had berated officers and TSA agents at the Charleston International Airport for not getting VIP treatment at the gate and through security checkpoints.
Mace also made headlines in April for a video she posted to her social media accounts about an interaction with a voter while she was out shopping. The conversation got very aggressive, and when I reported on it at the time, I stated that I thought Mace went a bit over the top, and I really thought she was playing it up for the camera, if I am being frank.
In my opinion, it was not a good look for her, and I think she could have handled it better, but it just seems that this is what we get in this social media age these days.
In what is a very crowded field for the GOP, Mace is one of several Republicans who will be vying for Trump’s endorsement in her gubernatorial bid, and if she continues to make headlines in such a negative way, I don’t see that happening.
Her case will not be made any easier after her former fiancé, Patrick Bryant, filed suit against her and claimed that she made up the abuse allegations in a plot that was concocted with the help of the estranged wife of a man named Eric Bowman.
This complaint stated, "What Mace did not tell Doe is that she concocted an entire false narrative of an assault, to blackmail Bryant, gain leverage in their separation proceedings, and try to ruin Bryant for her personal gain.” He is suing her for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Mace responded, "I will release evidence on Monday proving predator and alleged rapist Patrick Bryant from my floor speech is once again lying to the court in his frivolous complaint. I just got him sanctioned last week for weaponizing the court against me and rape victim Jane Doe. I plan on doing it again in this case after we move to dismiss. It’s disgusting that a man who abused women for years would sue his victims. Gross. Offensive. Very strange behavior. And I worry about the women who have come forward and their safety. Who in their right mind does that?"
Now, I don’t know who is telling the truth here, but I will say that I think we need to start doing a better job picking the people we are putting in office. We don’t need this drama, period. The GOP has become a soap opera of sorts, with an endless stream of meltdowns and scandals, and we need to start getting some adults into these rooms, or we will never be taken seriously. Nancy Mace, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, George Santos… are these really the people we want representing us in Congress and on the national stage?
