Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats and others for her assertion that "every single Muslim holding public office in America is a trojan horse, and a threat to both national security and our republic." Mace made the remarks in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., condemned Mace's comments, calling them "absolutely disgusting and dangerous" and urging Republicans to denounce the sentiment. Jayapal stated on X, "To Muslim communities across America: I will always stand with you."
Mace, in a reply to Jayapal on X, further stated, "Islam must be confronted and Islam must be removed from civil society in the US."
California state Sen. Scott Wiener, who is running for the U.S. House in San Francisco, criticized Mace, calling her "vile" for "demonizing Muslims and advocating to strip them of full citizenship."
Owen Jones, a writer who described himself on X as a "Socialist, antifascist, writer in various places," shared Mace's post and commented that if she spoke similarly about Jewish Americans, she would be considered a "loud-and-proud Nazi," adding that "Islamophobia is spiralling out of control in the US."
Mace responded to Jones on X on Sunday, stating, "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 has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2021. She previously ran unsuccessfully in the Republican South Carolina gubernatorial primary.