During a heated exchange on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) strongly criticized host George Stephanopoulos, alleging that he engaged in rape-shaming towards her. The discussion revolved around the accusations made by writer E. Jean Carroll against former President Donald Trump. Stephanopoulos questioned Mace about her continued support for Trump despite a jury finding him liable for sexual assault against Carroll, who accused him of raping her in the 1990s. Trump was ordered to pay over $80 million to Carroll in a civil trial.
“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,” Mace began. “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 gonna do that.”
Stephanopoulos maintained that his questioning was not intended to shame Mace and explained that he was seeking to comprehend her endorsement of Trump despite the allegations against him.
Mace received an endorsement from Trump on Saturday for her reelection campaign, after Trump had previously supported her primary opponent during the 2022 midterms. Similarly, Mace endorsed the former president before last month’s South Carolina primary.
Mace highlighted several public statements made by Carroll regarding her rape allegations, pointing out that she had made jokes about it and discussed receiving money from the former president.
“E. Jean Carroll joked about all the money she’s going to get and made a mockery out of this case,” Mace went on. “It makes it harder for other women to come forward when another woman has made a mockery of it.”
Previously, Mace has openly discussed her experiences as a survivor of rape, even during her tenure in the South Carolina state legislature, where she advocated for a rape exemption in the state’s abortion law.
As for Trump, he has consistently refuted Carroll’s allegations and has posted a $91.6 million bond to appeal the judgment.
During the weekend, Trump reiterated his denial of Carroll’s allegations, addressing a crowd in Georgia on Saturday by stating, “Ninety-one million based on false accusations made about me by a woman that I knew nothing about, didn’t know, never heard of, I know nothing about her.”
Mace emphasized that the case against Trump was a civil matter, not a criminal one, indicating a significantly different burden of proof.
“They didn’t even input all the evidence into the civil case,” Mace said.
She repeatedly bashed Stephanopoulos for “shaming” her by asking her the questions about her about-face on Trump.
“I find it offensive that as a rape victim you’re trying to shame me for my political choices and I’ve said again, repeatedly, E. Jean Carroll has made a mockery out of rape by joking about it,” Mace said.
“You can repeat that again and again and again and again,” Stephanopoulos said. “I’ve done nothing to shame you.”
Mace further justified her choice to support Trump despite her prior criticism of him regarding the Capitol incident on January 6, 2021.
“I listened to my voters in South Carolina and they’ve moved beyond January 6th,” Mace said.
