Mace: ‘Anybody would say yes’ to being Trump VP pick

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) argued “anybody would say yes” to being the vice president nominee alongside former President Trump, just days after he confirmed his vice presidential shortlist, which did not include her.

Mace endorsed Trump last month, the latest in a string of South Carolina lawmakers to not back former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.). Mace said she doesn’t see “eye to eye perfectly” with any candidate, and while she has “stayed out of it,” the time had come “to unite” behind Trump.

Mace discussed her endorsement of the former president and the prospect of joining him on the ticket during a Politico interview that aired Friday. At a town hall event Tuesday in South Carolina, Trump confirmed a shortlist of names, which did not include Mace.

“Obviously, you would say yes if he asked you, right?” Politico’s Ryan Lizza asked.

“Anybody would say yes, but you know, when was the last time a House member became vice president? I mean, it just doesn’t happen,” she responded. “And my focus has always been on South Carolina. I love the job that I’m doing.”

Mace, who was elected in 2018, has become an outspoken member of Congress, particularly during the ousting of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). She was rumored to be on Trump’s shortlist and said the possibility was “interesting” and “intriguing” weeks after the Speakership debacle in October 2023.

It appears she may no longer be in the running to campaign along Trump. At the Greenville town hall, Trump confirmed that his shortlist consists of Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), Vivek Ramaswamy, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who served in Congress as a Democrat but has since shifted to more conservative views.

Mace continued to pitch herself in the Politico interview and said she knows that women’s issues are going to be “a topic” in the election and sees “an opportunity” for her to be an advocate on the subject because she has been “really vocal on women’s issues.” The South Carolina lawmaker continued, arguing that she “ended up crushing it” in the 2022 election because she took on women’s issues and the abortion debate, which resonated with voters in her purple-leaning district.  

She also reiterated a past talking point — that she would like to see a Republican woman on the ticket as president or vice president. Despite not handing Haley her endorsement, Mace said she respects the job she did for South Carolina as governor.

“But South Carolina loves Donald Trump, and I still think there’s a chance he might pick a woman to be on the ticket,” she said.

Trump and Haley will face off in the South Carolina GOP primary Saturday. The former president leads the former South Carolina governor by 30.7 percent in the state, 63.8 percent to 33.1 percent, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s Election Center.