Trump Ally Nancy Mace Makes Big Announcement About Future
MAGA ally Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) made a big career announcement on Monday that is sure to shake up President Donald Trump’s base.
Mace said she was throwing her hat into the South Carolina gubernatorial race, one that already features a growing field of candidates.
In announcing her bid, Mace said she “is tired of politicians who smile for the cameras, lie to your face, and then vanish when it’s time to lead.”
“I’m not one of them,” she added. “I’m running for governor because South Carolina doesn’t need another empty suit. It needs a governor who will fight for you and your values.”
She outlined a platform that called for freezing the state’s general fund spending at approximately $11.6 billion, requiring each state agency to reduce its budget by 3% to 4% annually, expanding access to vocational and trade schools, and defunding any office, agency, or department that refuses to comply with state or federal law, CNN reported.
Mace is currently serving her third term in Congress. Once a vocal critic of Donald Trump, she has since aligned herself closely with the president. Her campaign launch video emphasized her pro-Trump credentials, including a clip of Trump praising her as a “fighter.”
She is expected to face a former prosecutor in the Republican primary, whom she has accused of mishandling an investigation into her ex-fiancé, whom she alleged earlier this year had abused her.
Other GOP contenders in the race include South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Rep. Ralph Norman, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, CNN added.
Mace, 47, made history in 1999 as the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel, South Carolina’s military college. She began her political career in 2018 with a seat in the South Carolina House of Representatives and was elected to Congress in 2020 after flipping a Democratic-held district.
In 2021, Mace was among seven House Republicans who signed a letter asserting that Congress lacked the authority to overturn the 2020 election results in Trump’s favor. She was also sharply critical of Trump’s involvement in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that same year, CNN noted.
“I want to be a new voice for the Republican Party, and that’s one of the reasons I’ve spoken out so strongly against the president, against these QAnon conspiracy theorists that led us in a constitutional crisis,” Mace said in 2021. “It’s just wrong and we’ve got to put a stop to it.”
But she also “described the impeachment process against Trump, however, as flawed and rushed and voted against impeaching him,” the outlet noted further. Trump eventually went on to endorse a primary challenger to Mace in 2022, but she won that race.
Since then, Mace has become a staunch ally of Trump, particularly on issues tied to the ongoing culture wars. During the 2024 election cycle, she and Trump offered mutual endorsements in support of each other’s campaigns.
On Tuesday, Mace pushed back on allegations that she is too combative to be a governor.
“In fact, these fights are worth fighting for, whether we’re talking about illegal immigration or men in women’s spaces or, in my case, in the state of South Carolina, we have the highest state income tax in the southeast,” she said Monday evening during an appearance on NewsNation. “There’s nothing combative about wanting a bigger, better, and brighter future for the entire state of South Carolina.”
“And in fact, contrary to the mainstream media, I’m actually one of the top legislative lawmakers in Congress,” she told “On Balance” host Leland Vittert, The Hill reported.
In the interview, the GOP lawmaker also highlighted actions she’s taken in support of President Trump’s “America First” agenda and sharply criticized Democratic policies.
Trump Issues Statement Regarding Health of Mitch McConnell
Weeks after former GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was hospitalized for a reportedly serious heart condition, there has been much speculation about his current condition.
Rumors are also swirling about whether he can complete his term, which ends in January.
Initially, reports said that McConnell suffered a “cardiac arrest” and was administered CPR – a health condition that is normally fatal, even for victims much younger than McConnell, who is 84 and has an extensive history of health problems.
But later, in one of the few public updates on the Kentucky Republican’s condition, his staff only said that he was receiving “excellent care.”
However, others who should know more about McConnell’s condition don’t. That includes the president of the United States.
Libby Dean, the White House correspondent for NewsNation, tweeted on Wednesday: “President Trump says he has ‘no idea’ how Sen. Mitch McConnell is doing and says he hasn’t spoken with the Kentucky Republican since McConnell’s hospitalization.”
Now, the governor of the Bluegrass State has grown concerned enough that he has reached out to the senator to inquire about his health.
“As Governor, I request that you fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of your health,” Gov. Andy Beshear,a Democrat who is seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender, wrote in a letter to McConnell on Wednesday.
“As public officeholders, we have made a commitment to our constituents to do our best to represent them and to always be transparent,” Beshear’s letter continued.
“I believe this requires clear communication about one’s ability to serve,” he added.
Several top Republicans were asked about McConnell’s condition on Tuesday, and their responses were not reassuring.
Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee has said that even members of Congress are in the dark about McConnell’s current condition.
Speculation has surrounded the health of the 84-year-old McConnell since the Kentucky senator was found unconscious and required CPR at his home in Washington, D.C., weeks ago.
McConnell’s staff has provided no significant update on his condition since he was hospitalized June 14.
The secrecy has fueled speculation that there is an effort to keep the full extent of the Republican’s condition from the public and has raised questions about whether he will be able to return to office.
On Monday night, MAGA social media user Mila Joy wondered why other senators haven’t spoken out about McConnell’s condition.
“Because they are ALL in on it together. That’s why,” Joy posted to her 571,000 X followers.
In reply, Sen. Lee posted: “Many of us aren’t speaking about Mitch McConnell’s condition because we know nothing about his condition.”
But Lee’s assessment contradicts earlier comments from Senate Majority Leader John Thune after McConnell was first hospitalized.
Thune said he had spoken to the 84-year-old and that he “sounded good.”
“He wants to be back, but I’ll defer to his staff on when,” Thune said on June 15.
Popular conservative activist Laura Loomer claimed recently that sources told her that McConnell is in a “vegetative state,” dismissing Thune’s version of events.
Things with McConnell have gotten worse by the day.
Since the reported incident, McConnell’s office has provided scant details on the former Senate GOP leader’s health condition, except to say that he allegedly “appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital.”
His office last week also said the 84-year-old senator “continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”
Trump ‘Briefed With Options’ Amid Stalled Iran Talks
The Trump administration on Wednesday continued to express optimism about negotiations with Iran, even as Iranian officials insist that no direct talks have taken place, according to reports.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister said no face-to-face meeting had occurred in Doha and that no direct negotiations with the United States were currently planned.
Despite Tehran’s position, President Donald Trump described the discussions as “very good,” apparently referring to indirect contacts involving U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicating through third-party intermediaries.
Vice President JD Vance struck a firmer tone the same day, warning that the United States could escalate its response if Iran refuses to cooperate or takes actions that further destabilize the Middle East.
His remarks underscored the administration’s message that while it remains open to a diplomatic resolution, additional measures remain on the table if negotiations fail.
“If Iran attempts to rebuild its nuclear program, threaten its neighbors and support terrorism, President Trump has options to deal with it,” Vance noted, without elaborating.
Earlier, a Wall Street Journal report claimed that Trump had been briefed on several military options, including “all-out war,” but Trump said he wanted to give diplomacy more time.
Vance additionally stated that the US “dropped bombs on Iran because it fired on ships, and we used leverage to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.”
He went on to suggest that the U.S. could take that course of action again.
Vance also said the current talks are “to discuss the details and flow of maritime traffic.”
The vice president, addressing U.S. military personnel at a naval base in Virginia on Wednesday, also said that Iran’s nuclear program has been set back decades.
“If you look at what our own intelligence says about their nuclear program, they are further away from developing a nuclear bomb than they have ever been since basically the last 20 or 30 years,” Vance said, though he stopped short of Trump’s claim that the program had been “totally obliterated.”
“What the president asks you to accomplish is to destroy the defense industrial base of that country, so that if they ever decided to rebuild their military, or if they ever decided to rebuild that nuclear program, they would be harmless to do it. You did that exactly as well,” Vance added, per the Times of Israel.
The VP went on to say that Trump is now “negotiating from a position of strength because of you.”
“If the Iranians try to rebuild the nuclear program, the President’s got options. If the Iranians try to threaten their neighbors or fund terrorism, we’ve got options,” Vance continued.
“But what we must never do is drop bombs just for the sake of dropping bombs. And that is what the president will never ask you to do,” Vance added.
“He’ll ask you to go to war, yes. But when he asks you to go to war, he’ll tell you exactly what you’re going for,” the veep noted further.
“And I think that is what you should expect out of your political leadership.”
“What I noticed about the people who are attacking the administration for negotiating is that they are the very same people who, for example, encouraged us to just go a little bit further and just drop a few more bombs in places like Afghanistan,” he said.
“If you go back to the mistakes that were made, those very same people refused to say what we were dropping bombs for,” he added.
“We dropped some bombs a couple of days ago… Because the Iranians were shooting at commercial ships… We applied some leverage, and we’ve had free commercial transit for the last three days,” Vance told the naval personnel.
