South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace on Monday doubled down on the expletive-filled rant she unleashed on police and TSA agents at a Charleston airport last week, saying that the tirade was sparked by fear for her life after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The former moderate-Republican turned MAGA firebrand, who is now running for the GOP nomination for governor in the Palmetto State, claimed she blew up at airport security for allegedly putting her in danger.
“I want you to know that the press, you guys in the fake news have omitted many details, and by doing so, you are lying to the people about what actually has transpired here,” Mace told reporters.
During a morning press conference to address her concerning conduct, she said she had feared for her personal safety and invoked the two assassination attempts on President Donald Trump and the Kirk assassination at a campus speaking event in September.
“I am not going to be the next person shot and killed in cold blood,” she said. “I take my safety of myself, of my children, of my family, of my employees, very seriously.”
A police report from last week and covered by multiple outlets said that Mace was set to arrive at Charleston International Airport shortly after 6 a.m., in a white BM, but that security didn’t see her for several minutes.
Shortly afterward, they found Mace at a TSA checkpoint for the Known Crewmember program, where the police report said she was “very irate.” The report said Mace “repeatedly stated we were ‘F****** incompetent,’ and ‘this is no way to treat a f****** U.S. representative.’”
Mace defiantly defended her behavior on Monday.
“Last Thursday morning, I absolutely 100% confronted the airport employees who put my safety at risk,” she said. “Did I drop an F bomb? I hope I did. Did I call them incompetent? If I didn't, they absolutely earned it.”
At the same time, she defended TSA agents.
“We brought these concerns to TSA multiple times, and I am grateful to the leadership at the TSA who has worked with us to ensure that we improve the safety concerns that we have while I'm traveling.”
At the same time, Mace demanded an immediate review of security protocols at the airport for members of congress, their staff and children.
“ I want a designation of a single point of contact within TSA for ongoing security coordination with our office, I want a personnel review of any federal employee who has participated in the in compromising my safety,” she said among her demands.
Mace is currently running for the Republican nomination for governor of South Carolina. She also faulted South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, one of her opponents for the Republican nomination for governor, for putting her safety at risk.
“I have been followed home in my personal vehicle in the weeks after Attorney General Allen Wilson posted my vehicle all over social media,” she said. “So it is a problem.”
But Wilson criticized Mace on X, saying she was the main problem.
“Nancy Mace didn’t face a security issue,” he said. “She threw an entitled temper tantrum after showing up late at the wrong entrance and then tried to blame officers. Threatening law enforcement for her own mistake is disgraceful. She owes them an apology.”
In the same token, Mace blamed Charleston International Airport CEO Elliott Summey for putting her in danger.
“Last week, the airport rushed to compromise my safety by releasing the location of where I am normally dropped off when I am traveling alone in the video that was released last week,” she said. “It was a limited video that was cut and that did not show the full picture.”
Previously, Mace billed herself as a moderate “caucus of one” who occasionally voted with Democrats on same-sex marriage and protecting access to contraception.
But she’s staked out a position as a hard-right conservative who has spouted anti-transgender rhetoric and tried to block Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the first openly transgender member of Congress elected, from using women’s restrooms on Capitol Hill.
Mace has said she has received numerous death threats and TSA agents and law enforcement at other airports have ensured her safety.
“This was a complete and total political hit job, and if cursing is a crime, then myself and all of you watching this morning should have been arrested a very long time ago,” she said. “I am not going to apologize if there is an incompetent government employee at the airport who is expecting an apology this morning, you are not going to get it.”
Polling so far in the South Carolina primary is scarce. Most polling shows Mace, Wilson and Lieutenant Gov. Pamela Evette at the top of the pack. A poll from Winthrop University showed Mace and Evette in a statistical tie.
South Carolina’s primary takes place in June.
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