Outgoing Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is giving Americans a closer look at her heavily tattooed arms as she launches a new YouTube show following a string of political setbacks.
Mace, 48, appeared sleeveless in promotional material for her new program, “Get Maced,” showing both arms covered in tattoos she had largely kept out of public view during her time in Congress.
The South Carolina Republican first disclosed to Politico in February that she had gotten nine tattoos in rapid succession between late 2023 and early 2024 — a stretch that included the collapse of her engagement and an exodus of staff from her congressional office. Mace told Politico the tattoos were a way to “reclaim” her body and identity, and that they provided “the pain that I need to feel.”
One of the tattoos is the opening line from Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway: “Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.” The tattoo reveal comes as Mace prepares for life outside Congress. She announced a campaign for governor of South Carolina last year but finished fifth in the Republican primary in June.
Mace declined last month to enter the special primary to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on the November ballot, instead endorsing Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) over Darline Graham Nordone, the late senator’s sister, whom President Donald Trump had endorsed and whom Gov. Henry McMaster appointed to serve out the remainder of the term. Norman and Nordone advanced to an August 25 runoff. Mace was once a prominent Trump ally but broke with the president over her push to release the Epstein files.
Mace told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo last month that her split with Trump “may have ended my political career.”
“Let’s be honest, I didn’t go to Washington to take orders from anybody, which is why you do see me scuffle from time to time, which is why I do call out Democrats and Republicans alike,” Mace said. “I have a history of doing that.”
The tattoo reveal marks another unconventional chapter for a congresswoman who has long cultivated an outsider image within the Republican Party.
Mace has described herself as a “caucus of one” and has frequently broken with members of her own party on high-profile issues.
In her Politico profile, Mace discussed her personal struggles and said she had experienced sexual abuse and a difficult relationship with her father. She said the tattoos and other changes to her life were part of an effort to reclaim her identity.
“I’m showing up to a family court hearing for a mom in a couple of weeks. I’m showing up to another court hearing for the family member of a murder victim in a couple of weeks,” Mace said at the time. “It’s just my reaction and my response … and it keeps me alive.”
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