Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina is facing sharp backlash after declaring that every Muslim holding public office in America is a threat to the nation. The congresswoman posted on X Friday: “Every single Muslim holding public office in America is a trojan horse, and a threat to both national security and our republic. We refuse to be silent.”
Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington swiftly condemned the remarks. “This is absolutely disgusting and dangerous,” Jayapal wrote Saturday. “Republicans must denounce this blatant Islamophobia. To Muslim communities across America: I will always stand with you.” Mace replied, “Islam must be confronted and Islam must be removed from civil society in the US.”
The controversy intensified when Mace appeared on CNN Sunday. Host Omar Jimenez pressed her directly: “Are you saying that anyone who is Muslim is a threat to this country?” Mace stumbled, repeating, “Uhh, that’s not what I said. Uhh, and that’s not what I said.” Jimenez responded, “I mean, it sounds like that’s what you’re saying.”
Mace then claimed she was only referring to elected officials who are Muslim, singling out New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. She suggested Americans should be “concerned” about “radical Islam ideology.” Jimenez pointed out that there is no indication Mamdani has brought such ideology to city governance and reminded her that Muslim officials are “folks who, by the way, are elected by American citizens.”
Rather than answer directly, Mace veered into a diatribe about Islam being incompatible with American values. “In the future, when our granddaughters are wearing burkas to school, we’re going to look back and say, how did this happen?” she said. Jimenez countered, “An expression of culture, congresswoman, is different than a blanket city policy.”
Mace escalated, alleging Muslims are trying to push out “our values” and saying, “I don’t want to hear the call to prayer five times a day in an American city.” Jimenez noted the First Amendment protects freedom of religion. “I grew up in a Christian household. I grew up in the South. Islam is not my religion. But I have Muslim friends, who, if that is how they worship, even if I don’t want to hear it, that is their right to hear,” he said.
Mace insisted such worship should be confined to “the privacy of their own mosque or their own home, not on the streets of America.” Jimenez reminded her that this was not being forced on her. After Mace again mentioned girls wearing hijabs, Jimenez delivered a pointed lesson, referencing Article 6 of the Constitution, which bars religious tests for public office. “The First Amendment is pretty clear on freedom of religion,” he said.
Mace shot back, “I don’t want this seeping into American culture. We have Christian foundations as a nation.” Jimenez replied, “That’s your opinion. The First Amendment disagrees that it needs to stay that.” Mace then exclaimed, “Go back to that country of origin. It doesn’t need to be here.”
Jimenez reminded her of America’s history of cultural expression through immigration. Mace blurted out, “I think we should ban all immigrants from those countries.” Jimenez calmly replied, “And that is your opinion, congresswoman.”
After the interview, Mace doubled down on X, writing: “You cannot pledge allegiance to the U.S. Constitution and Sharia Law at the same time. One is a roadmap for freedom, the other is a blueprint for tyranny. Islam has no place in Western society.”
California state Sen. Scott Wiener, running for the U.S. House in San Francisco, called Mace “a vile person” and accused her of “demonizing Muslims and advocating to strip them of full citizenship.” British commentator Owen Jones shared Mace’s original post, saying, “This is a Republican Congresswoman. If she spoke like this about Jewish Americans, she would right be regarded as a loud-and-proud Nazi. Islamophobia is spiralling out of control in the US.”
Mace responded to Jones on Sunday: “If not wanting to be blown up, stabbed, or rammed by a car by a radical Islamist in the United States of America makes us Islamophobes, then so be it.”
Mace, who has served in the House since 2021, lost the Republican South Carolina gubernatorial primary in June. She is not seeking reelection to her congressional seat, which is being contested in a special primary to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.
