Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on Thursday accused Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who was raped when she was 16 years old, of silencing abuse victims after the freshman GOP congresswoman highlighted the pair’s whereabouts during the breach of the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“All I can think of [with] folks like her dishonestly claiming that survivors are exaggerating are the stories of veterans and survivors in my community who deny themselves care they need & deserve bc they internalize voices like hers saying what they went through ‘wasn’t bad enough,'” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted in reference to Mace.
“This is where the true damage of what [Nancy Mace] is doing comes in,” the Democrat charged. “How many survivors are watching her? Who now, seeing her, won’t get care or will feel further shame or silence? Who won’t speak up bc they know there are voices in leadership ready to minimize their experiences?”
Ocasio-Cortez also accused Mace of hurting food workers, custodial workers and Capitol Police officers.
“How many food workers or custodial workers or Capitol Police officers, who ran for their lives in Longworth or feared for their families in the weeks after the attacks, now think their terror is less valid because of her statements?” she wrote. “Mace’s attacks are attacks on them, too.”
This is where the true damage of what @NancyMace is doing comes in.
How many survivors are watching her? Who now, seeing her, won’t get care or will feel further shame or silence? Who won’t speak up bc they know there are voices in leadership ready to minimize their experiences?
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 4, 2021
How many food workers or custodial workers or Capitol Police officers, who ran for their lives in Longworth or feared for their families in the weeks after the attacks, now think their terror is less valid because of her statements?
Mace’s attacks are attacks on them, too.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 4, 2021
Ocasio-Cortez’s charges against Mace were prompted by Mace hitting the media for sensationalizing Ocasio-Cortez’s account of the breach. Newsweek, Mace highlighted, claimed that Ocasio-Cortez said rioters were at her door, when Ocasio-Cortez never made such a claim. Newsweek has since issued a correction to its report.
“[Ocasio-Cortez] made clear she didn’t know who was at her door,” the Republican blasted the media on Tuesday. “Breathless attempts by media to fan fictitious news flames are dangerous.”
“My office is 2 doors down,” she added. “Insurrectionists never stormed our hallway. Egregious doesn’t even begin to cover it. Is there nothing MSM (mainstream media) won’t politicize?”
.@AOC made clear she didn’t know who was at her door. Breathless attempts by media to fan fictitious news flames are dangerous.
My office is 2 doors down. Insurrectionists never stormed our hallway. Egregious doesn’t even begin to cover it. Is there nothing MSM won’t politicize? pic.twitter.com/Tl1GiPSOft
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) February 2, 2021
On Thursday, Mace hit back at Ocasio-Cortez for not dealing “in facts,” highlighting that she never accused her of lying.
“*FACT CHECK* I have not once discounted your fear,” Mace posted, quote-tweeting a post from AOC. “We were ALL terrified that day. I’m stating the fact that insurrectionists were never in our hallway… because they weren’t. I deal in facts. Unlike you, apparently.”
“Hold up,” Mace continued. “You seem to be triggered by facts so let me be clear: I have not ONCE discounted your experience. It was harrowing for all of us. FACT: Insurrectionists weren’t in our hallways. It’s your eagerness to politicize absolutely ANYTHING that deserves condemnation.”
“But now, in typical [AOC] fashion, you’re making this political, even going as far as saying I don’t ‘hear’ victims of assault — ME, of all people. You don’t know my story. SMH [shaking my head]. Just stop it,” Mace continued.
*FACT CHECK*
I have not once discounted your fear. We were ALL terrified that day.
I’m stating the fact that insurrectionists were never in our hallway… because they weren’t. I deal in facts. Unlike you, apparently. https://t.co/S6CWasKNpY
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) February 4, 2021
Hold up ✋
You seem to be triggered by facts so let me be clear:
I have not ONCE discounted your experience. It was harrowing for all of us.
FACT: Insurrectionists weren’t in our hallways. It’s your eagerness to politicize absolutely ANYTHING that deserves condemnation. https://t.co/9wXruBQfi0
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) February 4, 2021
But now, in typical @AOC fashion, you’re making this political, even going as far as saying I don’t “hear” victims of assault — ME, of all people. You don’t know my story. SMH. Just stop it. https://t.co/Hrhg33gble
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) February 4, 2021
The congresswoman then went on Fox News to talk about her feud with AOC.
“My office is two doors down from AOC,” she said, as reported by Fox News. “Not at one moment during the events of Jan. 6 did any rioter or any insurrectionist come down the hallways where our offices are located. I initially took to task the press [for] taking these claims to apocalyptic levels. All I did was state the facts. I live in reality. I deal with facts and not fiction. I said there were no rioters in the hallways of Cannon. I am two doors down from you, and she lost it today. She doesn’t deal in reality…”
“I’m not going to discount the trauma,” she continued, adding, “I felt like I was a sitting duck, I felt like my life was in danger … I sent my children home early that week because I was worried about violence that might transpire on Wednesday, Jan. 6. But at no time were there rioters at our doors banging to get in. And I think that also attacking the Capitol Police this week, she did that earlier this week, she did that last month. The only thing standing between us and the rioters in our office building were the Capitol Police and they were outnumbered. I’m not going to discount the trauma that we each experienced, but we have to be factual when we describe what actually happened …”
“She’s very good at politicizing events to her advantage,” Mace said. “We have seen that throughout her tenure in Congress.”
“These are the reasons why Americans are fed up with politics today, seeing the culture of personality and both parties continuously dividing our country,” said the Republican. “We have real work to do. Yesterday and today, being distracted from the work of the people, we have people out of jobs, we have kids that aren’t back in school, we have vaccinations that need to get to vulnerable and compromised Americans so we can stem the tide of COVID-19. I feel like I’m in an episode of ‘Jerry Springer’ right now. It’s a circus, and we’re paid a lot of money to do a job, and I’m here to work and that’s what we need to be do …”
WATCH:
January 6 was a dark and traumatic day in our nation’s history. I felt threatened & unsafe.
Stating facts =/= belittling someone’s experience. Put simply, @RepAOC seems triggered by the facts. pic.twitter.com/klLZUBm0TS
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) February 4, 2021