Nancy Mace calls every Muslim holding US public office ‘Trojan horse’ after SC governor defeat

WASHINGTON, DC: Rep Nancy Mace is drawing new criticism after she claimed on X, “Every single Muslim holding public office in America is a Trojan horse and a threat to both national security and our republic.”

She posted this statement on Friday, August 7, a little less than two months after she finished fifth in the Republican primary race for South Carolina governor.

Nancy Mace’s remarks come after a series of clashes

Mace followed it with another post warning that New York City was being “overrun” by people who, she said, wanted to “see this country burn.”

“This is an invasion. There is no other way to put it,” Mace wrote. “Every American who watched this country get attacked on its own soil and said ‘never again’ deserved better than this.”

Mace’s latest comments pushed her views on Muslims, immigration, and loyalty in government right back into the spotlight.

Neither her campaign nor her congressional office offered any explanation or clarification about her sweeping statement on Muslim public officials.

This isn’t an outlier for her, either; it fits right in with her recent political messaging.

Just last May, she rolled out a proposed constitutional amendment. It would demand that members of Congress, federal judges, and certain federal officials all be natural-born citizens. When she announced it, she insisted that anyone holding federal power should have “one loyalty: America. Not Somalia.”

Then, in June, she brought forward a bill to end birthright citizenship for children of people in the US illegally. Her argument: courts have misread the 14th Amendment.

Nancy Mace (R-SC) speaks during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in the US Capitol Building on March 04, 2026 in Washington, DC (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Clashes with other politicians in the past

Mace hasn’t shied away from conflict, especially with Muslim Democratic Reps Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.

After Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei died in March, Mace took to social media and said her “heart goes out to Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib,” following up with, “Sending them thoughts and prayers.”

Omar fired back online, and soon the whole thing turned into a personal, messy fight.

But the drama doesn’t just stop with Democrats. Mace has tangled with Republicans too; Lauren Boebert is one example. Lately, Mace seems almost drawn to confrontation. It’s become part of her political style, especially when it comes to immigration and where people’s loyalties lie.

Governor loss leaves Nancy Mace’s political future uncertain

Mace’s recent remarks followed a tough loss.

On June 9, she came in fifth in the Republican primary for South Carolina governor. That knocked her out of the race, while Lt Gov Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson headed to a runoff. Mace pulled in about 12% of the vote. Donald Trump had backed Evette going into the primary.

Afterward, Mace partly blamed her defeat on her push to release the Epstein files. In her concession, she said she chose to “stand on principle” and face what she called an Epstein “cover-up.”

Mace has also said she will not seek another term in Congress, leaving her political future uncertain after the governor’s race defeat.