Trump Officials Say Nancy Mace’s Support for Epstein Petition Could Cost Her in South Carolina

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace has stood by her signature on the discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files, but White House officials say her decision is not a smart strategy to gain President Donald Trump’s support in the hotly contested primary for governor of South Carolina.

While Mace isn’t the only Republican who defied Trump by signing onto the petition, she is the only one currently seeking higher office, and the White House has taken note of that.

“Helping Democrats deflect from Republican success is not a good GOP primary election strategy,” a White House official told NOTUS when asked about Mace’s stance.

Another source close to the White House told NOTUS that they “couldn’t imagine a dumber strategy to get Trump’s endorsement than doing what she did this week.”

Mace declined to comment on the record.

Mace is currently running in a crowded field in the red state, against the likes of Rep. Ralph Norman, Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson.

On Wednesday, as thousands of new documents from the Epstein estate were released, Trump tried to convince at least one Republican to remove their name from the petition. He spoke with Rep. Lauren Boebert and had an unsuccessful conversation with her, according to a source familiar with the matter. Top officials also had Boebert come to the Situation Room at the White House to pressure her to remove her name.

Trump and Mace, however, played “phone tag” all day, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, and never connected.

The source added that Mace did send Trump a “love letter” detailing why she so adamantly supported the measure. The source said the letter closely resembled a post Mace put out on X. The letter and the post detailed how the decision for Mace to support the petition wasn’t political, but rather it was based on a conviction she has to fight for survivors of sexual assault based on her past experiences.

“The Epstein petition is deeply personal. When I was 14 I was molested by a friend of one of my coaches and sexually assaulted at 16,” Mace said in her post. “I was violently mugged months later. I dropped out of high school at 17 because I had nothing left to give. But God helped me turn things around.”

“As a survivor I will defend every last attack on President Trump to the death, everywhere,” she added. “Just like I did on Stephanopoulos because I believe in HIM. And all this fake news, well, it’s just noise. I will NEVER abandon other survivors.”

After Speaker Mike Johnson swore in Rep. Adilita Grijalva on Wednesday, Grijalva became the 218th signature on the petition and the House is set to vote to release the files next week. Now Mace appears to have made an enemy of the White House ahead of a primary bid where she will likely need Trump’s support to get out of it successfully.

Mace, for her part, managed to win despite Trump’s opposition to her once before — when he endorsed her opponent for a congressional seat. But getting out of an intensive statewide primary without his help will be difficult.

Other Republicans have been critical of Mace in recent weeks after she allegedly berated officials at the Charleston airport and accused the airport’s law enforcement agency of failing to provide her with appropriate security. She has posted about the incident dozens of times on social media and suggested the airport would not have treated Sen. Tim Scott in the same manner.