The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- Donna Robert
Rep. Nancy Mace bashed Donald Trump on Sunday for what the South Carolina Republican described as the former president’s legal battles that continue to be a distraction ahead of next year’s election.
Ms. Mace, a critic of Mr. Trump, said the GOP needs to be laser-focused on several key issues rather than “talking about paying off porn stars.”
She described a rally held by Mr. Trump over the weekend in Texas and his anticipated indictment from a New York grand jury for campaign finance violations for a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election as “distracting and destructive to our country.”
“I don’t want to be talking about paying off porn stars. As a conservative, that’s not an issue I can be supportive of,” she said on Fox News in an appearance Sunday. “I don’t want to see drama and political BS within our party when we’ve got to be focused on a message. We’re going to have a dog fight to even keep the majority in the U.S. House in ‘24, let alone win the White House back.”
Ms. Mace represents those on Capitol Hill in the GOP who point to others in the party like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley as potential presidential nominees.
A moderate who frequently irks conservatives for her brash criticism of the Trump wing of the party, Ms. Mace suggested the former president is taking attention away from kitchen table issues Americans are struggling with under President Biden that the party should be talking about on the campaign trail.
“We need to be like a bird dog pointing to inflation, pointing to the harm that interest rates have done in this country, pointing to the families who are living paycheck to paycheck and cannot pay their bills, talking about immigration issues,” she said. “I want to hear about what Republicans are going to do to support women in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade.”
