South Carolina Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace’s was recently accused of supporting transgender people, but rather than taking it as a compliment, Mace was reportedly livid.
Despite her history of campaigning on transphobic lies, regularly posting anti-trans messages on social media and scoring a dismal 17 out of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard, one of her supporters accused her of being not transphobic.
The supporter claimed Mace supported trans people because she wore a tuxedo to last weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. This comment triggered a strong reaction from Mace, who has been known to use transphobia as a tool to win elections.
The comment was made by Randan Steinhauser, a self-described “Counter-Cultural Christian Conservative WOMAN,” according to her Twitter bio. Steinhauser also raised Mace’s stance on abortion during her tweet.
She wrote:
"[Nancy Mace]—I have known you for a longtime. But your recent anti-life statements & positions are very concerning."
"Further, as our culture continues to undermine women by celebrating men who pretend to be them—why would you choose to wear a tux to the WHCD?"
You can see her tweet below.
Mace responded with multiple tweets, the first one criticizing Steinhauser's "pearl clutching" and attacks against her appearance while referencing Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid’s Tale by saying:
"This ain't Gilead."
You can see her tweet below.
Mace later posted a photo in which she compared herself to former First Lady Melania Trump, who wore a tuxedo at a previous event and criticized Steinhauser further:
"Curious… who wore it better? Then vs. now? I love freedom and liberty, including being free to wear a tux."
"[Randan Steinhauser] Your attacks on me today are pretty antithetical. But you do you."
You can see her tweet below.
But of course the transphobic Mace couldn't help but tweet an attack against transgender people, as if to stress her anti-LGBTQ+ bonafides to her conservative base.
She tweeted footage of herself attacking transgender equality, adding:
"We want to protect women and girls. Biological men should not be in female locker rooms, or competing against women in sports."
You can see her tweet below.
The exchange has exposed both women to significant criticism.
Since taking office, Mace has attempted to portray herself as a moderate alternative to extremist Republicans, such as Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, whom she has called “bats**t crazy” on social media.
However, her voting record is still extreme, as shown by her statement in 2021 that COVID-19 vaccines were unnecessary on Fox News and her subsequent support for the vaccines on CNN.
Mace’s past use of transphobia as a political tool shows she is willing to resort to lies and hate speech to win elections. Her recent overreaction to one tweet about her outfit choice suggests she may still view transphobia as an effective political strategy.
