Anti-LGBTQ+ Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who is running for South Carolina governor, blamed transgender people for her public meltdown that occurred at the Charleston International Airport on October 30. A police report said Mace turned a minor security miscommunication into a swear-filled “spectacle” that left airport employees visibly upset. Mace accused police of lying about the incident.

When asked on Thursday what happened by Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo, Mace replied, “We have to take our security very seriously. If you’re conservative, if you’re well known, if you have fought the transgender community like I have, exponentially — in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s public assassination — the death threats, the amount of political violence, the celebration of the killing of conservatives, is deeply disturbing.”

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Mace’s comments echo transphobic right-wing claims that trans people are more violent than cisgender people — this is untrue. Also, while Kirk’s shooter reportedly had a transgender romantic partner, there’s no direct evidence linking any sort of transgender ideology to the shooter’s motivation.

Mace also claimed that she has experienced numerous and repeated security breaches at the airport that compromise her safety. Though Bartiromo noted that Mace pledged to file a lawsuit against the airport, Mace demurred, not actually confirming her filing of any such lawsuit.

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“I take these things seriously,” Mace continued telling Bartiromo. “When there’s a security breach, you know, again, one mistake can have devastating consequences. And … I’m not a patsy. I just don’t sit around. I’m not a doormat. And I want to fix the issues. When I see them: There are security breaches; let’s fix it. Let’s do the work that’s necessary… I’m going to make sure that I’m safe, that my children are safe, my employees are safe, that conservatives … [are] not going to see any more assassinations in this country.”

BARTIROMO: You say officials falsified a police report. What happened at the airport? NANCY MACE: Here's the thing, Maria. We have to take our security very seriously. If you're conservative, if you're well known, if you fight the transgender community like I have… B: I asked you what happened

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) December 11, 2025 at 7:12 AM

A police report of the incident said that Mace called police “f**king idiots” and “f**king incompetent”; proclaimed that she is a “f**king representative”; and told a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) supervisor, ‘I’m sick of your s**t…. You guys are always f**king late and this is f**king ridiculous.”

Mace has accused the TSA and Charleston International Airport security (CHS) workers of conspiring against her in “a disturbing abuse of power and a clear case of political retaliation.”

She has claimed that her selection for additional airport security screening was “the stuff of the DEEP STATE and BIG BROTHER,” and claimed that her lawsuit against the airport “may bring South Carolina’s Attorney General down in flames with it, and several others.”

However, local police, her fellow state Republicans, and at least one conservative commentator seem to think she is behaving in inappropriate and “embarrassing” ways, and may also be struggling with mental health.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) recently called Mace a “spoiled brat” after she accused him of a “political hit job” against her.

He emphasized that half a dozen people reported on Mace’s behavior. “They’re all saying the same thing. Is everyone lying and she telling the truth? And it’s not just this one incident. Apparently, there’s a handful of incidents over the last year where she is cussing out TSA, cussing out security.”

“This is something that goes back not just this past month, but for the last year,” he emphasized. “At the end of the day, she’s saying things that are delusional. This basically reminds me of a spoiled brat, an entitled, spoiled brat.”

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