Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Newsmax on Wednesday that ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos hasn't apologized to her following a contentious interview in March.
Appearing on ABC's "This Week," Mace got into a tense exchange with Stephanopoulos regarding her endorsement of Donald Trump.
The row began after Stephanopoulos referenced Trump's legal battle with author E. Jean Carroll, who was awarded $83.3 million after a jury found Trump defamed her by denying her sexual assault allegations, and asked how Mace, as a rape victim herself, could reconcile her support for Trump.
Asked on "Greg Kelly Reports" whether Stephanopoulos had apologized, Mace responded, "Oh, absolutely not. And in fact, that ... was probably the most difficult interview I've ever had.
"I went into the interview thinking that we were going to talk about the election in 2024. That's what we were told we were on set in New York to do."
Mace said she had her teenage daughter with her.
"I had my 14-year-old daughter, my underage daughter, with me at the time. And, you know, the first thing they did was pull up my speech where I told about, where I talked about being raped for the first time in my life," she said. "I was 16, and I talked about my rape on the floor of the state House in South Carolina. I was unprepared for that, and it was emotional for me. It was disappointing, and it was shameful."
"We shouldn't shame rape victims for the candidate that they support for any office, let alone the president of the United States. Trump supports women," Mace continued.
"He has so many women in his Cabinet. He's got the first female chief of staff ever in the history of the White House. And he has been so supportive of women, so supportive of rape victims like myself — rape survivors.
"And so we have to give the man credit where credit is due. And I will fight like hell for Donald Trump, for what he's done for women across the country."
According to Business Insider, ABC News will pay $15 million to Trump's future presidential library to settle a defamation lawsuit. During Stephanopoulos' interview with Mace in March, the news anchor falsely claimed that Trump had been had been found "liable for rape" in the lawsuit brought by Carroll.
Trump sued ABC and Stephanopoulos in federal court in Miami days after the network aired the segment, in which the longtime "Good Morning America" anchor and "This Week" host repeatedly misstated the verdicts in Carroll's two civil lawsuits against Trump.
Stephanopoulos wrongly claimed that Trump had been "found liable for rape" and "defaming the victim of that rape."
Neither verdict involved a finding of rape as defined under New York law.
In the first of the lawsuits to go to trial, Trump was found liable last year of sexually abusing and defaming Carroll. A jury ordered him to pay her $5 million.
In January, at a second trial in federal court in Manhattan, Trump was found liable on additional defamation claims and ordered to pay Carroll $83.3 million.
Trump is appealing both verdicts.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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