Jul 17, 2024; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. speaks during the third day of the Republican National Convention at Fiserv Forum. The third day of the RNC focused on foreign policy and threats.
Anti-trans Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has refused to attend a public town hall planned by her constituents because she claims it is “not safe.”
“This is FAKE NEWS,” she posted on X, along with a flyer for the town hall naming her as an invited guest. It’s not clear which part she is purporting to be fake, since the flyer just says she is invited and not that she is attending.
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“This event is being driven by left-wing extremists and paid agitators with a clear agenda,” Mace went on to claim. “I WILL NOT be attending. We’re staying away because it’s not safe, and we refuse to be bullied by individuals who are threatening me, my employees, and my family.”
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Mace is perpetuating the GOP’s new favorite lie that the hordes angry constituents flooding Republican town halls are actually paid actors.
“Paid ‘troublemakers’ are attending Republican Town Hall Meetings,” Trump claimed on Truth Social earlier this month. “It is all part of the game for the Democrats, but just like our big LANDSLIDE ELECTION, it’s not going to work for them!” (Trump’s 2024 election wasn’t a landslide: He won only 49.78% of the popular vote and beat his opponent by roughly 2.2 million votes, the smallest margin of victory for any president since Richard Nixon’s 1968 election.)
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) echoed Trump’s claim about hired actors, telling CNN Democrats are merely trying to make “it look like that what is happening in Washington is unpopular.”
Johnson did, however, admit he didn’t actually know if what he was saying was true when the host pressed him on the fact that surely not everyone was a paid protestor.
“Many of them were,” he responded. “I don’t know.”
Johnson has also advised GOP lawmakers not to host town halls anymore after videos went viral of angry constituents yelling at Republicans about where Trump and the GOP are taking the country.
In one, a GOP congressman was met with a chorus of screams and boos from constituents after telling laid-off federal workers being fired by Elon Musk is part of God’s plan for them.
Mace has made a national name for herself by bullying trans people – even targeting random, private citizens. But it seems she is unwilling to be on the receiving end of any ire.
Many on X responded to her refusal, mocking or slamming her for refusing to face her constituents.
No. Your constituents want to know why you are giving trillions in tax cuts to the wealthy at the cost of massive cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA. I think it is your JOB to listen and then represent the will of the people. If you are not doing so, whose purposes are…
Translation: I am well aware that many of my constituents will react negatively toward my representation of them and/or my support for policy in Congress, and I’m terrified of that. I would prefer to hide on friendly media platforms and post on social media instead.
Will you have a town hall? I am a resident of your district, that you represent. I am NOT a paid agitator or extremist. I am a citizen with questions about education, veterans, Medicaid, social security, foreign assistance, and SNAP. Come talk to your constituents!
