A testy Nancy Mace had a meltdown at a town hall event, calling a reporter a “raging Democrat” after she asked a question the South Carolina gubernatorial hopeful didn’t like.
During the town hall in Veterans Café and Grill in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina—part campaign stop, part audition for a Trump endorsement—Mace called herself “one of the most serious members of Congress.” Within minutes, she vowed to ban “chemtrails” and get fluoride out of South Carolina’s drinking water.
But the fireworks really kicked off after the event, when a reporter confronted Mace over her touting of infrastructure upgrades tied to the Inflation Reduction Act—legislation she opposed.
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“You’re very confused,” Mace snapped, before pivoting to gender politics. “You’re a raging Democrat… a raging leftist with that kind of questioning. And I would say, as a woman, like, you might wanna think about how you view other women.”
Mace insisted she had every right to claim credit for a road improvement project funded through the bill she voted against. “It is literally our job,” she said. “Maybe you’re confused.”
The reporter clarified that her question wasn’t about job descriptions—it was about consistency.
“The funding came from the Inflation Reduction Act,” the reporter noted. “Which you voted against.”
“Right,” Mace acknowledged, unfazed. “I mean, absolutely, I can tout that.” She then launched into a breakdown of spending figures, arguing that most of the $1.2 trillion package was “completely wasted.”
When pressed again on the apparent contradiction, Mace didn’t budge. “This is literally a job of a member of Congress,” she said—again.
She wrapped things up by advising the reporter to “read the Constitution.”
Before the event even kicked off, there was a flashpoint. Video shared on social media appears to show Mace’s field director removing people from the venue.
“Out, get out!” she snapped at constituents, one wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “GOP Against Trump.” The group of women protested that they shouldn’t be ejected merely for holding up signs.
“You’re getting out right now, you mouthed off,” the field director claimed, before calling a police officer for assistance. “We didn’t do anything buddy, we’re standing here,” one woman protested.
Afterward, Mace claimed she heard some protesters inside the venue calling her supporters “a four-letter word, see you next Tuesday.”
She said she did not see that anyone was pressured to leave. “I didn’t see that at all,” Mace said. “Everyone has a First Amendment right to be here,” she added.
Other people told NBC News that they felt pressured to leave. “I didn’t clap and I booed something, and the woman in front of me turned around and said, ‘What are you doing here?’” Kathi Hunt, an independent, said.
David Hunt, who is a Democrat, said he had an “overwhelming sense” they’d be ejected, so they left.
Communications Director Sydney Long told the Daily Beast that “we don’t check party affiliation at the door.”
“Congresswoman Mace takes every question with no filter, and invites Americans from every political stripe to hear from her firsthand,” Long added.
“Congresswoman Mace welcomes all viewpoints at her events, but if you are a risk to the safety of others or harass others, you’re out.”
The Myrtle Beach event was Mace’s first town hall since announcing her candidacy for South Carolina governor, and her first since she was mocked for sharing a picture of herself riffing on Sydney Sweeney’s “great jeans” American Eagle ad campaign.
After thanking the audience for listening to her pitch, she said she would detail some of her plans “because I don’t want you to believe what the fake news is going to tell you, that Nancy Mace only does memes.”
Just a day earlier, Mace had tried to capitalize on the furor over Sweeney’s “genes” ad with a meme of her own.
The 47-year-old posted an image on X of herself aiming an assault rifle at an unknown target. Referring to her ultra skinny jeans, Mace wrote: “Nancy Mace for Governor has great jeans.”
