Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) unveiled a heavily tattooed new look as she launches a YouTube talk show, marking a new chapter for the firebrand congresswoman as her political career appears to be winding down.
Mace recently took to social media to promote Get Maced, a new YouTube show in which she plans to address current events and politics. The appearances also offered a fuller look at the tattoos covering her arms, which she had largely kept concealed after getting them earlier this year.
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Mace said in February that she had gotten nine tattoos in rapid succession, describing them as a way of marking a series of painful events in her personal and political life, including the departure of staffers from her congressional office who she said had badmouthed her to the press and the breakup with her fiance.
In a profile with Politico earlier this year, Mace said the tattoos represented “the pain that I need to feel.”
The South Carolina Republican has spoken openly about the trauma she says she has experienced throughout her life, including allegations of rape and sexual molestation, as well as a difficult relationship with her father. She has described the tattoos as a way to “reclaim” her identity and body.
“So my story is I am totally broken,” Mace told the outlet. “I have PTSD over what I’ve been through.”
Mace’s personal struggles have unfolded alongside an increasingly tumultuous political career. Earlier this year, she sought the Republican nomination for governor of South Carolina but finished fifth. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, whom Mace has accused of failing to properly address her allegations of sexual assault involving her ex-fiance and others, won the Republican nomination in a runoff.
Mace also considered a Senate bid after Lindsey Graham’s unexpected death before deciding against a run for the seat.
“I’m not running for the U.S. Senate, not because I’m backing down from a fight, but because the one I’m already in matters right now,” she said in a video announcing her decision.
