South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace has a tense exchange with ABC's George Stephanopoulos over her political choices as a rape victim, accusing him of “embarrassing” her. did.
While Mace appeared on ABC's “This Week” to discuss her support for former President Donald Trump, Stephanopoulos highlighted Trump's past civil litigation with author E. Jean Carroll. , he claimed that he was sexually assaulted by the former president. Stephanopoulos questioned how a South Carolina lawmaker could support Trump as a rape victim, but Mace quickly asked the question.
Mace noted that not only was Carroll's lawsuit against Trump decided in civil court, but he also highlighted the writer's comments that he would continue the trial. shopping He spent his winnings “ridiculing rape.'' (Related: President Trump issues $91 million bail after appealing E. Jean Carroll verdict)
“You supported Donald Trump as a presidential candidate. A judge and two separate juries found him guilty of rape and defamation of the rape victim. Against Donald Trump. How do you combine your support with the testimony we have just seen?'' Mr. Stephanopoulos asked.
“I say I was raped when I was 16, but any rape survivor will tell you that I have lived with incredible shame for 30 years. I didn't come forward because… It's because of that judgment and shame that I felt, George, that's a shame that you'll never feel. I'm going to sit here on your show and shame you about another potential rape victim. I'm not going to ask you a question that's meant to be. I'm not going to do that,” Mace said.
“Actually, it's not meant to humiliate you. It's a question about Donald Trump,” Stephanopoulos retorted.
“You're humiliating me,” Mace pressed.
“You supported Donald Trump as a presidential candidate. Donald Trump was found guilty by a jury of rape. Donald Trump was found guilty by a jury of defaming a rape victim. . Affirmed by the judge. He repeated–” Stephanopoulos replied.
“First, this was not a criminal trial. Second, I live with shame, and you are asking about my political choice to shame me as a rape victim.” But I find it offensive. And, frankly, according to E. Jean Carroll's comments, even though the verdict was made for making a joke about what she was trying to buy. , it wasn't — it made it harder for women to come forward who mocked rape. When they joked about it. It's not okay,” Mace said.
“When women are vilified by presidential candidates, doesn't it make it harder for them to come forward?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“It gets even harder when other women joke about it. And she joked about it. I think it's offensive,” Mace interjected.
As the exchange continued, Stephanopoulos refused to let the senator back down, digging into his position that Trump was convicted of raping Carroll, prompting a Washington Post headline. I asked the producer to feature it.
“I was just stating the facts–” Stephanopoulos replied.
“You know better,” Mace repeated.
Stephanopoulos retorted: “I'm sure Donald Trump is perfectly satisfied with what he did.”
“And what you did is offensive to the woman who was raped. What you did this morning was offensive,” Mace said.
“I'll leave that up to the viewers to decide,” Stephanopoulos said.
Carroll sued the former president for defamation, leading to two separate lawsuits and winning a total of $83.3 million in damages in late January. In Carroll's case, she claimed President Trump made disparaging comments about her in 2019, calling her a “terrible job” during a CNN town hall. The authors were awarded $65 million in punitive damages and $18.3 million in compensatory damages by a jury.
However, following the publication of a book alleging that she was sexually assaulted by President Trump, Carroll stated in June 2019 that she not only does not consider herself a victim, but that she was “not raped.”
