Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on Sunday accused ABC News host George Stephanopoulos of trying to “shame” her as a rape victim because he questioned her support for former President Donald Trump after a jury found him liable of sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll.
“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 going to do that,” Mace said on Sunday.
Mace, who was raped as a teenager, argued that the Trump trial was civil, not criminal, and that Carroll later “joked” about the verdict.
“I find it offensive and I also find it offensive that you are trying to shame me with this question,” Mace said.
“You don’t find it offensive that Donald Trump has been found liable for rape?” Stephanopoulos pressed as the two went back and forth.
“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.
Carroll later thanked Stephanopoulos for “valiantly defending me.”
“I wish Representative @RepNancyMace well,” Carroll tweeted. “And I salute all survivors for their strength, endurance, and holding on to their sanity.”
Thank you, @GStephanopoulos for valiantly defending me.
— E. Jean Carroll (@ejeancarroll) March 10, 2024
I wish Representative @RepNancyMace well.
And I salute all survivors for their strength, endurance, and holding on to their sanity. https://t.co/0GTOwGIXkE
Conservative attorney George Conway, who helped advise Carroll on the case, praised her response.
“I can say utterly without equivocation that @ejeancarroll is one of the most gracious and forthright people I have ever met,” he wrote. “And this is a perfect example of it.”
