Part of: January 6 & the Trump Relationship
Mace on Trump and the GOP machine: "He's definitely part of figuring out who gets to stay and who gets to go"
Rep. Nancy Mace, asked by Tara Palmeri whether Donald Trump is part of the political machine, said he is 'definitely part of figuring out who gets to stay and who gets to go.' The exchange came during a Sept. 1, 2026 interview after Mace described Kevin McCarthy talking trash about her on Fox News.
Rep. Nancy Mace told journalist Tara Palmeri on September 1, 2026 that Donald Trump is "definitely part of figuring out who gets to stay and who gets to go" in Republican politics. Palmeri had asked directly whether Trump is part of the political machine Mace had just described. Mace answered yes, naming a Trump rally for a South Carolina Senate candidate as an example.
The exchange came after Mace described the machine's response to dissent in blunt terms: "When you go against the machine, the machine comes after you, and they come after you hard. They come after you until they run you out of office." She cited Kevin McCarthy as still holding a personal grudge over her vote to remove him as Speaker.
Captioned clip from the Tara Palmeri Show, September 1, 2026. Watch the full interview on YouTube.
The exchange
The verbatim exchange, from the Tara Palmeri Show, September 1, 2026:
Mace: I mean, Kevin McCarthy's still talking trash on Fox News whenever he gets on. He was talking trash about me last week, and I'm just like, why is this? Because of one vote? You didn't like it? Okay, man up and move on. But, he just can't seem to get beyond, beyond his bitterness. But, um, you know, when you go against the machine, the machine comes after you, and they come after you hard. They come after you until they run you out of office.
Palmeri: Is Trump a part of the machine then?
Mace: Uh, we've seen him, you know, um, I think he's, I think he's definitely part of, you know, figuring out who gets to stay and who gets to go by picking people. Um, he's, he did a rally on Friday night for Darling Graham, for example, um, for the US Senate seat that I think is going to go to Ralph Norman today. We'll, we'll see.
Context
The conversation about the machine followed an earlier exchange in which Mace confirmed that Trump "100%" punished her for standing up for victims after she signed the discharge petition for Epstein victims. When Palmeri had asked whether Trump is "a good man," Mace said "I think so. I think he's got it in his heart", an answer she gave 30 seconds before the punished-100% exchange.
The Trump rally Mace references was held for "Darling Graham" in a South Carolina US Senate race. Mace said she believed the seat would go to Ralph Norman. Mace did not receive Trump's endorsement in her gubernatorial run; Trump backed another candidate. She lost the primary in June 2026 and is not seeking re-election.
Mace also described the broader psychological toll in the same interview: "I will feel much freer very soon when I get out of here January 3rd. Um, I'm just trying to make it through the next four months. I'm running through the tape hard helping my constituents."
Watch
The full Tara Palmeri Show interview is available on YouTube. The machine exchange begins at approximately 12:02:
Sources
- Tara Palmeri Show, "MACE ON BEING MACE," YouTube, September 1, 2026 (primary source; exchange at 12:02)
- The Tara Palmeri Show: tarapalmeri.com
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