After securing the minimum required delegates in the primaries with their respective parties, the stage is now set for a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in the upcoming November general election. As the campaign progresses, both candidates are sharpening their criticisms of one another, adopting increasingly radical language in a bid to acquire the support from as many voters as possible. This trend is expected to intensify as the election draws closer.
The polls
For several months, Trump has consistently led Biden in the majority of polls, with Biden’s policies on illegal immigration and the economy being major points of contention among voters, particularly independents. While Trump’s lead has remained relatively stable, recent surveys have shown a shift, with Biden pulling ahead in at least three polls conducted in March, suggesting he may outperform Trump in the November election, according to a Newsweek report.
Biden and Trump’s endorsements
Key Democratic figures have rallied behind Biden, endorsing his bid for a second term in the White House. Trump, however, is encountering challenges in securing endorsements from high-profile supporters, including those who were part of his inner circle during his presidency. In two separate occasions from this and last week, former Vice President Mike Pence and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson have both declared their decision not to endorse Trump this year.
Rep. Nancy Mace endorses Trump
In a recent interview on ABC’s “This Week,” South Carolina Republican Representative Nancy Mace affirmed and justified her support for Trump, marking a significant shift in her stance. Previously, Mace had been openly critical of Trump following the riot, advocating for his accountability for the events of January 6 and arguing that he should be barred from holding office in the future. This decision comes at a time when former President Trump faces 91 criminal counts in four different jurisdictions — including two cases related to Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
“I listened to my voters in South Carolina and they’ve moved beyond January 6th,” Mace said when asked how she squared her current support for the former president with her previous stance.
Mace confronted the ABC host George Stephanopoulos
During the interview, which quickly turned confrontational, Representative Nancy Mace sharply criticized ABC host George Stephanopoulos for what she perceived as an attempt to shame her, a survivor of rape, for her support of former President Donald Trump. Right from the beginning, when Stephanopoulos questioned her endorsement of Trump, Mace fired back, refusing to be cornered into criticizing another possible victim of sexual assault: “I’m not going to sit here on your show and be asked a question meant to shame me about another potential rape victim. I’m not going to do that.”
A rape victim
Mace skillfully avoided Stephanopoulos’s efforts to press her into denouncing Trump over allegations of sexual misconduct or to address any perceived inconsistencies in her support for Trump, given her own traumatic experience. Mace, who was raped at the age of 16, has, in her role as a lawmaker, advocated for rape and incest exceptions in abortion legislation, among other measures.
Life threats following the interview
The Republican, who made headlines with the confrontational interview, later said that someone threatened to murder her and her family. In these claims, which came about a week later, Mace says the interview “has done huge damage to her and women in her family” just for scoring cheap political points on a rape survivor.
“Last night I received a serious threat and the individual is now in custody. Our family wants to thank law enforcement for acting quickly,” Mace wrote. “Since the ABC News interview where George Stephanopolous [sic] rape shamed me – we’ve received a barrage of threatening messages and calls from all around the country – all week. Neither political violence nor the threat of it is ever going to be tolerated.”
Last night I received a serious threat and the individual is now in custody. Our family wants to thank law enforcement for acting quickly.
Since the ABC News interview where George Stephanopolous rape shamed me – we’ve received a barrage of threatening messages and calls from… pic.twitter.com/GZhWfstVyv
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) March 16, 2024
The suspect arrested
Following the release of the interview clip, Mace announced that the individual accused of threatening to kill her and her family had been apprehended, expressing her gratitude towards the law enforcement agencies for their effective response.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has initiated a defamation lawsuit against ABC News and its host George Stephanopoulos. The legal action, lodged in the U.S. District Court in Miami, accuses Stephanopoulos of slandering Trump in his line of questioning towards Mace in the “This Week” interview.
ABC refused to issue an apology
The lawsuit details that Trump’s representatives reached out to ABC News following the interview with Mace, demanding a retraction and an apology, which was not provided. However, it was noted that ABC News did alter a headline of a related article, changing a mention from “rape” to “sexual assault.” The lawsuit also references over ten occasions where Stephanopoulos alleged that Trump was found “liable for rape” or had been adjudicated as having committed rape.
