US Politics
Nancy Mace was tearful after meeting with Epstein victims. A day later she defended Trump who has called it a ‘hoax’
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South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace is defending President Trump’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, painting the president as a principled opponent of the late sex criminal even as Trump has dismissed the Epstein scandal in recent days as a Democrat-led “hoax.”
“President Trump is the one who banned Jeffrey Epstein from Mar-a-Lago,” the Republican wrote on X on Wednesday. “President Trump is the one who cooperated with the feds to get this guy. President Trump is the one who is COMMITTED to protecting women and kids.”
The comments come a day after Mace, a survivor of sexual assault and rape, was seen on Tuesday leaving a closed-door meeting at the Capitol with Epstein victims with tears in her eyes.
“As a recent survivor (not 2 years in), I had a very difficult time listening to their stories. Full blown panic attack. Sweating. Hyperventilating. Shaking. I can’t breathe,” Mace wrote on X about the experience. “I feel the immense pain of how hard all victims are fighting for themselves because we know absolutely no one will fight for us. GOD BLESS ALL SURVIVORS.”
The ongoing Epstein furor has put Mace, an outspoken advocate for survivors of sexual abuse, in a politically complicated position.
The Republican is currently running for governor of South Carolina and courting the president’s endorsement, while at the same time backing a bipartisan House bill to force the Trump administration to release more of the Epstein files, even as Republican leadership urges members to back a House committee investigation of Epstein instead.
Lawmakers and voters across both parties have hammered the president after the administration promised far-reaching releases of Epstein files, only to declare in July that no further investigations or releases were warranted
By allying with Trump, Mace has also thrown her lot in with a longtime former friend of Epstein’s, who has been accused by nearly 30 women of sexual misconduct and found liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll, allegations which he has denied and is expected to challenge at the Supreme Court.
As a federal prosecutor in 2008, Trump’s eventual first-term labor secretary, Alex Acosta, approved a controversial non-prosecution agreement for Epstein, largely sparing the financier from jail time after he pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution and shutting down investigations into his trafficking ring.
The Trump administration has also nominated multiple people accused of sexual assault to prominent positions, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Both men have denied wrongdoing.
For her part, Mace has said the White House respects her position on the Epstein issue.
“The White House, the president, they know and understand my story — they get it,” Mace told The New York Times. “I’m not going to move from where I am because it’s a deeply personal issue for me.”
She added that she was struck to see Epstein survivors on Capitol Hill, still seeking accountability after decades.
“To listen to these women who are my age now and see them 30 years later still fighting for justice — I saw myself in those shoes and I thought, ‘Is that going to be me in 30 years?’” she said.
