When Donald Trump tried to end Rep. Nancy Mace’s career, there was no great mystery as to the former president’s motivations. In the wake of Jan. 6, few Republicans went further than the South Carolinian to distance themselves from Trump.
The day after the insurrectionist violence, Mace said Trump’s “entire legacy” had been “wiped out.” A week later, the congresswoman added, “I believe we need to hold the president accountable. I hold him accountable for the events that transpired for the attack on our Capitol.”
With this in mind, it hardly came as a surprise when, in early 2022, Trump endorsed Mace’s GOP primary opponent and called the congresswoman “absolutely terrible” and a “grandstanding loser.”
This week, apparently immune to embarrassment, Mace nevertheless endorsed Trump’s 2024 candidacy, though we’re still learning more about just how far a journey the South Carolinian took to arrive at this point. The Washington Post reported this week:
Mace was so angry at Trump during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that she discussed with aides the prospect of confronting the rioters so she could get punched and become the face of anti-Trump Republicans, according to former staffers familiar with the incident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution.
According to the Post’s reporting, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, Mace envisioned a plan in which she’d confront the rioters on camera, which in turn would help position her as a leading anti-Trump voice.
Her staff, according to the account, helped talk her out of it.
To be sure, it’s difficult to know whether such an outlandish and unconfirmed tale is true, though it’s worth noting for context that former members of Mace’s staff have spoken up in recent months about her desperate efforts to raise her public profile — a leaked staff handbook, also unverified by MSNBC and NBC News, said aides were expected to arrange at least 15 television appearances per week for Mace.
What’s more, The Daily Beast told readers that it, too, learned of the punch-in-the-face account as part of its own reporting. The article added, “According to three sources who heard the comments firsthand, Mace used those exact words: She wanted to go ‘get punched in the face.’”
As for why this might matter, let’s not forget that as recently as last summer, The Wall Street Journal reported that the congresswoman was “warming to the idea” of trying to be Trump’s running mate.
The more we learn about Mace’s interest in 2021 of becoming “the face of anti-Trump Republicans,” the less likely it seems the former president would choose her for his ticket.
