Rep. Mace says America needs a strong leader to take on China

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) walks on stage on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians, and the Republican faithful are in Milwaukee for the annual convention, concluding with former President Donald Trump accepting his party's presidential nomination. The RNC takes place from July 15-18. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace told the Republican National Convention on Wednesday evening that America needs to project strength, not weakness, in its dealings with China. And former President Donald Trump is the person to project that strength abroad, she said.

“Just as Trump quickly rose to his feet, with a defiant fist in the air, in Butler Township, Pennsylvania, when we re-elect him as president in November, America will soon be back on hers,” Mace said in a speech that lasted less than five minutes.

Her remarks came four days the former president was shot during a rally in Pennsylvania. A bullet clipped his ear shortly after he took the stage. As Secret Service agents move him off stage, Trump pumped his fist several times.

One rally attendee was killed and at least two other people were injured before authorities killed the shooter, according to the U.S. Secret Service.

“We will be courageous. We will be united. We will be resilient. And we will be prepared to take on the challenges of this moment,” Mace said to end her speech.

Mace told reporters in a call earlier Wednesday that she significantly rewrote her short speech following the attempted assassination. She moved away from a comparison between Biden and Trump and instead focused on a message of unity, she said.

“I kept the military and China theme in the speech, but I removed every mention of Joe Biden,” Mace said.

Mace spoke on the third day of the RNC, when the theme was “make America strong again.”

In her speech, she said America needs a strong leader to stand up to China, which supplies arms to Russia, supports Iran, and oppresses its own people. While she did not say Biden’s name, she alluded to him.

“We can never project strength around the world when weakness stands in the White House,” she said. “Nations like China see weakness as opportunity.”

Mace, who was endorsed by Trump in her successful primary race , told reporters she hadn’t spoken to Trump since last Thursday, when he asked her to speak.

She also told reporters she’s happy with his decision , announced Monday, to pick Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate.

Vance made a national name for himself with his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” about growing up in Appalachia and making it to Yale Law. Mace said she watched the film adaptation of the book Sunday and found his story compelling.

“Obviously I made no bones about it early on, I wanted to see a woman on the ticket. It didn’t happen,” Mace said. “I do think he’s younger, he brings a lot of energy, and he’s very, very smart.”

Mace is the third and final person from South Carolina to address the RNC, following U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and former Gov. Nikki Haley — both previous presidential candidates.

“It just goes to show how much leadership South Carolina brings on the national stage,” Haley said. “Both Sen. Tim Scott and Nikki Haley made South Carolina proud.”

Back in the Palmetto State, Mace is running for a third term representing the 1st Congressional District, a race she is favored to win. The Cook Political report , a non-partisan political analysis publication, has the district rated as “solid Republican.”

This week, federal campaign ethics filings showed that Mace outraised her Democratic opponent since the June 11 primary, but not by much.

Her Democrat challenger Michael Moore raised just over $100,000 for the report covering May 23 through June 30, while Mace raised just over $120,000 in the same period.

Still, Mace as the incumbent has a heavy cash-on-hand advantage of about $740,000, over six times what Moore has on hand.

“After such a hard fought primary where we really left it all out on the field, we were proud to finish out the quarter where we did,” said Gillian Bergeron, Moore’s campaign manager, in an email to the SC Daily Gazette.

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