Congresswoman Nancy Mace delivered an impassioned defense of President Donald Trump after he dismissed calls to release the Epstein files, just a day after she was seen crying with Epstein survivors.
The South Carolina gubernatorial hopeful, 47, left a meeting with Epstein victims on Wednesday, her eyes brimming with tears.
Mace said that she empathized with the survivors as a victim of sexual crimes herself. In February, Mace accused her ex-fiancé and three other men of sexual misconduct during a speech on the House floor.
“As a recent survivor (not 2 years in), I had a very difficult time listening to their stories. Full blown panic attack. Sweating. Hyperventilating. Shaking. I can’t breathe,” Mace shared on her X account. “GOD BLESS ALL SURVIVORS.”
But the MAGA Republican was quick to defend Trump after he batted away calls to release the Epstein files as a “Democratic hoax.”
“President Trump is the one who banned Jeffrey Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. President Trump is the one who cooperated with the feds to get this guy. President Trump is the one who is COMMITTED to protecting women and kids,” Mace wrote in a post about the president, who was found liable of sexual assault against columnist E. Jean Carroll in a $5 million lawsuit in 2023.
The Daily Beast reported in August that, contrary to Mace’s claim, the disgraced financier remained a Mar-a-Lago member for more than a year after he was indicted. The Daily Beast has reached out to a representative of Mace for comment.
Mace’s defense of Trump came after several Epstein victims pleaded for him to release the Epstein files.
“President Trump, you have so much influence and power in this situation. Please use that influence and power to help us,” said actress Anouska de Georgiou, who alleges Epstein had abused her since she was 14.
“This is not a hoax, it’s not going away,” said survivor Marina Lacerda.
On Tuesday, over 30,000 pages and several videos related to the Epstein investigations were released, though most of the documents were already public or were copies of old reports. According to a report from The New York Times, the White House has possession of more than 100,000 pages of Epstein files.
Despite coming to Trump’s defense, Mace was among the congress members to sign Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie’s discharge petition to force the release of fresh Epstein files.
Trump, known to have been a longtime friend of Epstein, is facing backlash from all sides for objecting to the release of the Epstein files. Meanwhile, revelations about Trump’s relationship with Epstein continue to pile up.
