12 batsh*t things Nancy Mace has done in her anti-transgender attention grab

Opinion: Here are the times Republican Nancy Mace went full on transphobe

Around this time last year, hardly anyone knew who Nancy Mace is.

The Republican U.S. representative from South Carolina has made a name for herself over the past several months by targeting the transgender community with slurs, false accusations, and a personally-motivated bathroom ban. With all the buzz Mace creates, it's hard to tell which of her beliefs — if any — are genuine.

She used to support LGBTQ+ equality, then a conservative PAC donated to her campaign. She attacks trans people in the name of women's safety, yet she employs a man who has put them in danger. When taking her track record into account, Mace's sudden change of heart only points to one thing — attention seeking.

Here are some of the times Mace has manufactured political stunts just to feel the public eye's gaze.

Called Capitol Hill protestors a transphobic slur

Mace filmed a video after the arrest of 15 protesters on Capitol Hill who were speaking out against her and Mike Johnson's anti-trans bathroom ban, referring to the group as "tr*nnies."

Mace said the group showed up to protest the ban “but they got arrested, poor things.” She then held up a megaphone and recited Miranda rights at the protestors, changing one of the lines to: "If you cannot afford an attorney — I doubt many of you can — one will be provided to you at the government’s expense.”

Used a transphobic slur (again) during an HOC hearing

Mace again used a transphobic slur during a House Oversight Committee hearing in February, when she fallaciously referred to a USAID grant as "paying for tr*nnies in Guatemala."

When Democratic Virginia U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly noted that “the gentlelady has used a phrase that is considered a slur in the LGBTQ community and the transgender community,” Mace shouted back, “Tr*nny, tr*nny, tr*nny! I don’t really care! You want penises in women’s bathrooms, and I’m not going to have it!”

As Connolly attempted to restore order, Mace cut him off again, saying, “I’m not gonna be counseled by a man over men in women’s spaces or men who have mental health issues dressing as women.”

Rather than condemn her language, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, claimde he was unfamiliar with what counts as offensive, stating, “I will be honest with the ranking member, I’m not up to date on my politically correct LGBTQ terminology.”

Called a college student a transphobic slur

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Mace directly called a trans woman and student at the University of South Carolina a transphobic slur to her face after she simply asked a question during an April event Mace was speaking at.

The student, 20-year-old Harley Hicks, was filmed approaching Mace at the stage to ask for an apology over her repeated use of a transphobic slur. Hicks said in the video, "I would like for you to apologize because it is derogatory, and second of all-" but before she could continue, Mace cut her off to use the slur again.

"Is tr*nny really derogatory?" Mace asked, grinning.

"Well, yeah," Hicks said. "Of course it fucking is."

"Tr*nny. Yeah, tr*nny, tr*nny, tr*nny," Mace repeated.

Hicks could then be seen picking up a potted plant and moving it out of the way so she could pick up something else that was behind it before walking away. Mace posted the interaction on X, formerly Twitter, misgendering Hicks and claiming she intended to assault her with the plant.

Screamed at a gay man in Ulta for asking a question

Mace berated a man in an Ulta Beauty store in April after he simply asked if she would be holding any Town Halls for her constituents. Rather than answer, Mace replied, “I voted for gay marriage twice.” When he asked what that had to do with him, she said, “It has everything to do with you.”

“Do you think everything about me has to do with gay marriage?” he asked. “That’s your first stance when speaking with me?”

“Absolutely,” Mace responded.

“You couldn’t have a humane conversation with me?” he said.

Mace then declared, “People on the left are absolutely f***ing crazy.” At that, the man turned to walk away — only for Mace to yell, “F**k you!”

Mace later described the man, Ely Murray-Quick, as an "unhinged lunatic wearing daisy dukes." Murray-Quick told The Advocate that "it speaks a lot to her character that this is the type of language she decides to use to someone who is in the same space as her who asked her a simple question.”

Challenged Rep. Jasmine Crockett to a fight

Mace threatened to physically fight Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett during a House Oversight Committee in January after Crockett criticized Mace's obsession with trans people.

“I can see that somebody’s campaign coffers really are struggling right now," Crockett said. "So [Mace] is gonna keep saying ‘trans, trans, trans, trans’ so that people will feel threatened, and chile, listen—”

“I am no child, do not call me a child, I am no child," Mace interrupted. “If you want to take it outside, we can do that."

Crockett's office later condemned Mace's action in a statement to The Advocate, calling it a “performative meltdown” in which she "was threatening physical violence" against another representative.

Accused a foster care activist of assault for shaking her hand

Mace accused a foster care activist of assault in December after he enthusiastically shook her hand during a public event at the Rayburn House Office Building. James McIntyre, 33, was arrested by U.S. Capitol Police and charged with misdemeanor assault only for the case to be dropped a few months later with no explanation.

Mace claimed McIntyre “aggressively” shook her hand and caused a lingering wrist injury, though she declined medical treatment at the time and later appeared for weeks wearing a sling on Capitol Hill. Eyewitnesses disputed that the interaction was anything more than a handshake.

Mace's accusation against McIntyre came after he told her, “Trans youth are also foster youth, and they need your support." Elliott Hinkle, a foster care advocate and one of several attendees who witnessed the exchange, said: “What we witnessed was a handshake — a passionate shake, but it didn’t look like an assault or intended aggression."

McIntyre celebrated the "baseless charges" being dropped in a statement, in which he called the false accusations "traumatic."

“By falsely accusing me of a violent crime and having me jailed, Congresswoman Mace demonstrated her desire to criminalize anyone who advocates for the needs of our trans youth," he said. "Her actions are fundamentally connected to the broader effort by the Trump administration to criminalize protected speech and create an environment of fear among advocates. We will never stop working to protect vulnerable young people, no matter who is in power.”

Fought for a bathroom ban targeting one single trans woman

Mace remained largely unheard of until she introduced a resolution in January that banned trans women from using women’s restrooms at the U.S. Capitol. She later confirmed that the rule was "absolutely" targeting newly-elected Delaware Democrat Sarah McBride, the first-ever out transgender lawmaker in Congress.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson supported Mace in imposing a rule that mandates all single-sex facilities in Capitol buildings — including restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms — be reserved strictly for people based on their gender assigned at birth.

McBride responded to the targeted ban by saying she's “not here to fight about bathrooms" and would rather focus on efforts "to bring down costs facing families.” She added that "like all members, I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson even if I disagree with them.”

Berated a cisgender woman for using the women's bathroom

Mace and Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert attempted to enforce Capitol Hill's bathroom ban in January by confronting a cisgender woman in the women's restroom after they mistakenly believed her to be McBride.

Boebert told other members on the House floor that she saw McBride walk into the ladies’ room and followed her, saying, “You shouldn’t be here.” Boebert quickly realized she was mistaken, and an anonymous GOP representative told The Daily Beast that “I overheard Boebert say she went to apologize."

Bloomberg reporter Billy House also documented the developments in real time on X, formerly Twitter. House later asked Boebert about the incident, and she admitted her mistake.

Employed a man who broke into a woman's home

Despite building her reputation on a self-proclaimed commitment to protecting women’s safety, Mace currently employs Sean Brislin, who has been her legislative director since January, according to his LinkedIn page. Brislin's criminal history includes an arrest for unlawfully entering a woman’s apartment in Washington, D.C. at night while intoxicated.

The woman returned to her Northeast D.C. home in January, 2020 to find Brislin asleep in her bed, according to court documents. Alarmed, she contacted the police, who arrested Brislin and charged him with unlawful entry, a misdemeanor. He avoided trial by agreeing to complete 32 hours of community service, attend alcohol treatment, and stay away from the woman and her apartment.

Picked a fight with her state's championship-winning coach

After the University of South Carolina's women’s basketball team earned its third national championship under the leadership of renowned coach Dawn Staley, Mace decided that instead of celebrating the team's achievement, she would attack Staley for supporting the inclusion of trans athletes.

“If you consider yourself a woman and you want to play sports or vice versa, you should be able to play,” Staley said at a press conference after prompting from a right-wing reporter. “That’s my opinion.”

Mace then slammed Staley on social media, writing: “Wonder how she’d feel if her team got beat with a man playing on the opposing team. Absolute lunacy. Men DO NOT belong in the locker room or on the court with our women and girls. I will stop at nothing to ensure men do not take away the achievements of women and girls.”

A comprehensive review of several studies on trans participation in sports under their gender identity found that trans athletes, post transition, are "more similar to their gender identity." It noted that both transgender and cisgender athletes show great variations in ability.

Mocked a transgender person's appearance unprompted

Mace targeted a private citizen onlinefrom her official congressional account by posting the comment “Estrogen doesn’t love you” in response to a trans woman's several-week-old post sharing her transition timeline. The woman, 23-year-old Sabre, told The Advocate that the post caused her to face harassment, death threats, and doxxing attempts, which she had to alert her employer of.

“Since Nancy Mace’s tweets towards me, I have experienced a massive increase in death threats and other generalized threats of violence to the surprise of nobody,” Sabre said. “Almost all of my content is also being flooded with anti-trans sentiment due to the attention newly given to me by Nancy."

“The severity of the harassment I received, combined with the threats from her followers, meant I had to disclose to my boss that I went viral online, and now people were trying to figure out where I work because I am transgender," she continued. "In her original post on Twitter, you can also actually go through all of the replies and see her actively encouraging her followers to uncover personal information about me.”

Stopped supporting LGBTQ+ rights after American Principles Project donated

Mace described herself as "pro-transgender rights" just a year before she began attacking the community. The conservative co-sponsored the Fairness for All Act in 2021, which would have banned discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation with certain exceptions for religious institutions.

Mace even went so far as to tell conservative outlet The Washington Examiner at the time that “people don’t want the government in their bedrooms or their board rooms," saying, “I strongly support LGBTQ rights and equality. No one should be discriminated against. ... I do believe that religious liberty, the First Amendment, gay rights, and transgender equality can all coexist."

The Republican also told CBS News in July, 2023 that adults who wish to transition should be able to "make that decision freely," adding, "It's your body, your choice."

Mace was later the target of attack ads from the conservative American Principles Project PAC during her 2022 primary, who accused her of supporting “men in girls’ locker rooms, female prisons, and even women’s shelters," incorrectly referring to trans women as men. The PAC later contributed financially to Mace's 2024 campaign.