How Nancy Mace's complicated history with Trump, Nikki Haley is playing out in South Carolina
"Donald Trump is the only man who can save America," Mace said Friday.
Former President Donald Trump collected a key presidential primary endorsement that is likely stinging his Republican opponent, Nikki Haley: Rep. Nancy Mace, the South Carolina Republican and once-vocal ally of the former U.N. ambassador, who on Friday doubled down -- likening Haley to Democrats.
During a press conference in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, on Friday, Mace discredited Haley's record on taxes, foreign policy and immigration while echoing attacks made by other Republicans that compared Haley to Democrats such as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"The last time a tax-hiking president walked around South Carolina in high heels was Hillary Clinton," Mace said.
Mace added that "Donald Trump is the only man who can save America."
Yet over time, Mace has walked a tightrope with Trump and his base -- ricocheting from criticism to full-throated support since her first week in Congress in 2021.
Just one day after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Mace said Trump's "entire legacy" was "wiped out" by the siege.
During her 2022 reelection bid for South Carolina's first congressional district, Trump backed Mace's challenger, Katie Arrington. At the time, Trump called Mace "terrible" and a letdown.
"Frankly, she is despised by almost everyone, and who needs that in Congress, or in the Republican Party?" Trump said in a statement on his social media while endorsing Arrington.
During a rally in South Carolina, Trump went on to call Mace "crazy" and a "terrible person."
Still, after he backed her challenger and blasted her, Mace posted a video on social media supporting Trump. Standing in front of Trump Tower in Manhattan, Mace said she was one "the earliest supporters" of Trump and his agenda.
However, Mace never won back Trump's support during her midterms race, and instead, boasted the high-profile support of Haley, who lives in Mace's district. Haley was even featured in a television ad supporting Mace, calling her a "fighter" who is "tough as nails."
"I love having Nikki Haley here," Mace told ABC News the day before her election.
But when it comes to her preferred occupant in the White House, Mace's love for Haley seems to have dissipated. In late January, Mace endorsed Trump over Haley, a tremendous blow to the former South Carolina governor as one of her most visible supporters turned against her. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott also endorsed Trump after suspending his own campaign.
"I don't see eye-to-eye perfectly with any candidate. And until now I've stayed out of it. But the time has come to unite behind our nominee," Mace told the Associated Press.
South Carolina conservative political strategist Dave Wilson told ABC News that Haley is losing her allies and that the state's politics are experiencing a time of unpredictability.
"We are currently in one of the most politically schizophrenic seasons in South Carolina politics," Wilson said. "As the race has honed itself down, those who would seem like natural allies because of previous relationships are going more with the populist tide."
Mace's political future is potentially on shaky ground -- her support of the ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has centered her in a messy primary to keep her seat. Right before he left Congress, McCarthy said in an interview with CNN that Mace does not deserve to be reelected due to her "philosophy and the flip-flopping."
Wilson posited that Mace's lurch toward Trump may be part of a border strategy to protect herself from whatever vulnerabilities she now has after going after McCarthy.
Mace is facing primary challenges from her former chief of staff, Daniel Hanlon, and Catherine Templeton, who served in the South Carolina government during Haley's gubernatorial stint and was reportedly one of the top picks to serve as labor secretary in the Trump White House.
"Nancy Mace likely recognizes the fact that she faces stiff opposition with at least two primary challengers in this Republican primary," Wilson said. "She likely knows that she is going to have to have a Trump endorsement to give her momentum on the scale she'll need to survive a primary challenge, especially if the new Kevin McCarthy PAC comes after her following her 'no' vote for him remaining speaker of the House."
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