Nancy Mace’s Anti-Trans Crusade and the GOP’s Endless Outrage Machine

According to Popular Information, Mace has posted more than 130 times on X about her resolution. Among the posts is one where she mockingly wishes McBride a happy “International Men’s Day.” It’s all just so cruel.

Writing at her Erin in the Morning Substack, Erin Reed called Mace’s actions “a move as predictable as it is outrageous,” and argued that this gave away the game, that none of the campaign-time concerns about “sports” or “kids” or “prison inmates” were genuine; this was just an excuse to hate on trans people as a whole:

The reaction to Rep. McBride makes one thing crystal clear to Democrats and pundits alike: the Republican Party’s debate over transgender Americans was never about sports or prison inmates. Time and again, when given an inch, they take everything. That they’ve already pivoted to bathrooms before Congress has even convened should speak volumes—and the fact that the first transgender person they’ve targeted nationally is a mild-mannered Democratic congresswoman representing a million Delawareans speaks even louder. If Rep. McBride—a woman who championed and passed paid family leave for mothers on the brink of poverty—is deemed “unsafe for women,” then what transgender person could ever be considered safe? The absurdity of it is almost too staggering to believe.…

Republicans won’t stop with McBride, nor with sports bans, national bathroom laws, or attacks on transgender teens. Their goal isn’t compromise, and no amount of capitulation will stop the barrage of ads or the relentless assault on transgender Americans. Hate cannot be defeated through fear or focus groups or backroom deals—it demands courage. It requires people willing to rise to the moment and show their humanity to anyone willing to see it. Democrats now face one of those moments. McBride will soon have no choice but to rise and meet it. Whether Democrats stand with her will define not only their future but the future of transgender people across this country.

Since the election, there’s been pressure on Democrats to lay off “identity” issues—which mostly means there are people clamoring for Democrats to throw trans people to the wolves—but this episode illustrates the truth: It’s Republicans who can’t stop trying to fight a culture war.