Nancy Mace Deflects, Defends, and Delivers Drama at Ulta

Public meetings with constituents – known as "Town Halls" – are a very touchy topic with Republican lawmakers this year, thanks to their being forced to answer to Donald Trump's policy. But no one appears more testy than South Carolina U.S. Rep Nancy Mace when asked by a constituent at a South Carolina Ulta store if she was planning any more Town Hall meetings.

For Mace, the best offense seems to be to run with being offensive. She filmed the exchange and posted on X saying, "Some unhinged lunatic, a man, wearing daisy dukes, at a makeup store, got in my face today. Dems are nuts. So I went off – and I won't be backing down. I hold the line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Try me."

The man, who later identified himself as Ely Murray-Quick, is far enough away that his entire body is seen in the image, which undermines Mace's "in my face" claim. She also goes on to profile him as gay and to inform him that she had voted for same sex marriage twice.

"What does that have to do with me?" he replied. To which Mace answered, "It has everything to do with you."

The exchange devolved from there, getting more heated when Mace called Murray-Quick crazy, adding "you people on the left are crazy. You're absolutely fucking crazy." As Murray-Quick moved to leave, repeating her words, Mace said, "Fuck you. Goodbye."

The profanities flew on both sides at this point with Murray-Quick calling her "a disgrace to the state" and a "nasty bitch." Mace ended the conversation with "Get the fuck out of my face now," though he was clearly walking away. Added Mace: "Fuck You. You couldn't take me on, baby. Stay the fuck away from me."

Murray-Quick offered his account of the confrontation on Facebook along with a video from his perspective. He writes in his post:

"We took a trip to Ulta today and ran into none other than Nancy Mace – arguably one of the biggest embarrassments in modern South Carolina politics.

"When asked a simple question – 'When are your next few town halls?' – and a polite follow-up for clarification, she immediately jumped to the defensive (shocking, I know). Her response? 'I voted for gay marriage,' as if that lone vote somehow erases her consistently harmful record on LGBTQ+ rights. Let's be clear: one 'yay' vote doesn't undo the damage of her broader political choices.

"Nancy Mace has a long and disgraceful track record: she's backed bills that harm transgender youth, including supporting bans on gender-affirming care and dragging her feet on any real protections for the LGBTQ+ community. And beyond that, she voted against the Inflation Reduction Act – a bill that lowered prescription drug costs, capped insulin prices for seniors, and invested in clean energy. That's not 'moderation,' that's siding against working people.

"When pressed further about town halls, Mace claimed she held 12 last year – as if that excuses her refusal to show up for her constituents now. Spoiler alert: it doesn't.

"To my trans friends and especially the trans employees at Ulta – people Nancy seems perfectly happy to shop near but not stand up for – I want you to know this: these people will not prevail. I will fight for your rights and dignity for as long as I'm able.

"Content warning: the video contains graphic language, most of which was initiated by your elected representative, Nancy Mace herself. I responded in kind at first, and I won't apologize for speaking up or for publicly asking a politician to do her job."