Rep. Nancy Mace on Monday endorsed former President Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White House, the latest chapter in her series of conflicting statements about the former president.
“I don’t see eye to eye perfectly with any candidate. And until now I’ve stayed out of it. But the time has come to unite behind our nominee,” she said in a post on X. “To be honest, it’s been a complete shit show since he left the White House.”
That’s a marked difference from how the South Carolina Republican spoke about Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, though her stance had clearly started to soften in the years since. Here’s a timeline of Mace’s evolving relationship with the former president:
Jan. 7, 2021, after the attack on the Capitol: Mace took to television to say of Trump: “everything that he’s worked for … all of that — his entire legacy — was wiped out yesterday. We’ve got to start over.”
Jan. 13, 2021: Mace votes to acquit Trump for the events of Jan. 6 but says in a floor speech: “I believe we need to hold the president accountable. I hold him accountable for the events that transpired for the attack on our Capitol.”
Jan. 17, 2021 on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “We need to rebuild the Republican Party. We need to rebuild our country. And I am counting on my colleagues to join us, to be that new voice for the Republican Party to lead us out of the crisis going forward because our country is counting on us.”
Feb. 9, 2022: Trump endorses Mace’s primary rival, Katie Arrington, in the GOP primary for her House seat. In a statement, he calls Mace “an absolutely terrible candidate” who has been “disloyal” to Republicans.
Feb. 10, 2022: Mace appears in front of Trump Tower in New York to seek his support, despite him endorsing her rival just the day before. “I was one of his earliest supporters,” she said.
June 14, 2022: Mace defeats Arrington for the Republican nomination despite Trump’s endorsement of her rival. She goes on to win another term in November.
June 11, 2023: Mace hit the Biden Justice Department for indicting Trump over his handling of classified documents, saying “whether you agree with Donald Trump politically or not, most of America sees this for what it is, as weaponizing the executive branch to take out your political enemies.”
June 21, 2023: Mace says of her past relationship with Trump: “I’m willing to bury the hatchet to save the country, and I know President Trump is too.”
October 2023: Mace prompts significant GOP blowback after she votes with seven other Republicans to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his post, a surprise defection.
January 22, 2024: The South Carolina Republican endorses the former president just a day ahead of the New Hampshire primary.
