Part of: January 6 & the Trump Relationship
Nancy Mace defends her support for Trump after he was found liable for sexual assault
George Stephanopoulos pressed Mace, a self-identified rape survivor, on her continued support for Trump after a jury found him liable for battery and defamation in the E. Jean Carroll case. Stephanopoulos repeatedly described the verdict as 'rape', a characterization Trump later sued ABC over, settling for a $15 million library contribution. The interview made national headlines as a painful public confrontation of Mace's stated values against her political alignment.
"It was not a criminal court case, No. 1. No. 2, I live with shame. And you're asking me a question about my political choices trying to shame me as a rape victim.", Nancy Mace, to ABC News' George Stephanopoulos
In a nationally televised interview, ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos put Mace in a position few politicians had faced directly: he asked a self-described rape survivor to justify her support for a man a jury had found liable for sexual abuse and defamation. Stephanopoulos framed the jury's verdict plainly:
"Donald Trump has been found liable for rape by a jury. Donald Trump has been found liable for defaming the victim of that rape by a jury."
Mace pushed back on the characterization and pivoted to her voters, saying she had followed their lead on moving past the controversies surrounding Trump:
"I listened to my voters in South Carolina, and they've moved beyond Jan. 6."
The exchange became one of the most-watched clips of the 2024 cycle, a sitting congresswoman who had publicly spoken about surviving sexual assault defending a man a civil jury had found liable for the same category of conduct. The interview generated sustained national commentary and featured prominently in coverage of Mace's subsequent political difficulties.
The interview carried a legal aftershock: Trump sued ABC News over Stephanopoulos' repeated use of the word "rape" to describe the Carroll verdict. The suit settled in December 2024 for a $15 million contribution to Trump's presidential library.
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