Former President Donald Trump congratulated Rep. Nancy Mace (SC) on her GOP primary victory over his preferred candidate, former state Rep. Katie Arrington, in a rare moment of geniality toward a politician he had called “absolutely terrible” and “very disloyal.”
“Congrats to Nancy Mace, who should easily be able to defeat her Democrat opponent,” Trump wrote in a Tuesday night post on Truth Social, his social media platform.
REP. NANCY MACE FENDS OFF TRUMP-ENDORSED SOUTH CAROLINA GOP PRIMARY CHALLENGER
He added that Arrington, whom he endorsed in February, “ran a great race and way overperformed” despite being a “long shot” candidate. Trump also celebrated his 76th birthday Tuesday.
Mace is a one-term congresswoman who represents the Palmetto State’s 1st Congressional District. As a newly sworn-in representative, Mace blamed Trump for much of the violence that took place during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and said he did not have a future in the Republican Party.
However, since then, Mace has embarked on something of a rehabilitation tour with Trump and his supporters. In February, shortly after Trump endorsed Arrington, she tweeted a video of herself outside Trump Tower in New York City in which she described herself as one of his “earliest supporters” and praised policies he enacted during his presidency.
Four months ago, in a statement giving Arrington his “Complete and Total Endorsement,” Trump derided Mace as an “absolutely terrible candidate” before declaring that her “remarks and attitude have been devastating for her community, and not at all representative of the Republican Party to which she has been very disloyal.”
NEW!
President Donald J. Trump announces his endorsement of Katie Arrington against Congresswoman Nancy Mace pic.twitter.com/cbuIsTzqui
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) February 10, 2022
Trump’s amicable treatment of Mace presents a stark contrast to his previous treatment of victorious candidates whose rivals he backed, including after recent primary contests in Georgia.
After Trump-endorsed former Sen. David Perdue lost by more than 50 points to Gov. Brian Kemp in the Georgia GOP gubernatorial primary, the former president emailed an article to his Super PAC’s list that claimed Kemp’s victory must have been due to voter fraud since “nobody in any election in America gets 74% of the votes.” Trump himself received more than 74% of the vote in several GOP presidential primary contests in 2016, including in such states as West Virginia, California, New Jersey, and Washington.
Trump was also reportedly “stunned” that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whom Trump has seethed against since the former’s refusal to overturn Georgia’s election results in 2020, defeated his Trump-endorsed rival in the Republican primary by more than 18 points.
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Arrington conceded the race to Mace late Tuesday night after it was clear the low-country congresswoman had exceeded the 50% vote threshold needed to avoid a runoff. Preliminary results showed Mace with 52.86% of the vote to Arrington’s 45.88%, with 98.8% of precincts reporting statewide.
Asked by the Washington Examiner for her reaction to Trump’s congratulatory remarks, a spokesman for Mace did not return a request for comment.
