In a fiery and hostile exchange during a telephone town hall, Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace of South Carolina lashed out at a constituent who dared question the rollback of DEI—Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility—initiatives. Lindsey, a caller from Summerville, asked Mace, “As far as respecting women, how do you feel about DEIA being taken away? Because I mean you got to go to The Citadel with your DEIA, and now generations of girls aren’t going to be able to have the same opportunities.” That struck a nerve.
Mace, the first woman to graduate from the formerly all-male Citadel military college, exploded in response, saying, “I earned the right to wear the ring at The Citadel. No one gave it to me… The blood, sweat, and tears I went through to follow in my father’s footsteps, you will never know the pain that a woman goes through to succeed at a place like The Citadel.” Although she did not know anything about Lindsey other than her first name, she continued talking, saying, “You wouldn’t last an hour…You sound like someone who wants men in women’s spaces, and I gotta tell you, I will never allow it, not over my dead body…I think that is disgusting.”
Lindsey’s question also touched on transgender rights in restrooms, saying, “They are being harassed in restrooms, and I feel like that’s kind of counterproductive.” To this, mace accused Lindsey of being a “fake town haller,” and dismissed her as “part of the far left.” This isn’t new behavior for Mace. She’s repeatedly vilified transgender people, shouted slurs in Congress, and even targeted trans Representative Sarah McBride.
Ironically, even far-right influencers like Matt Walsh have pointed out that Mace herself benefited from the very diversity and inclusion policies she now denounces. He wrote, “Nancy Mace was literally a beneficiary of a DEI program.” Speaker Mike Johnson has also encouraged Republicans to avoid town halls altogether. But for LGBTQ Americans, the message from Mace and her allies is loud and clear: dissent isn’t welcome—and trans lives don’t matter. This is the state of GOP leadership in 2025.
